A few days ago, one of the federal ministers had broken the good news that the government would resolve the issues related to provincial autonomy before the next year's general election. It is hardly a secret, therefore, that the government intends to use the provincial autonomy card to seek votes for the ruling alliance.
Whatever the motive behind the move, positive progress is being made. Talking to a section of the press on Friday, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan said that a decision has been taken in principle to do away with the Concurrent List and restore the spirit of the 1973 Constitution - of course only insofar as it pertains to provincial autonomy.
A parliamentary committee headed by Senator Wasim Sajjad, and having as members the Minister for Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Salim Saifullah and Chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau Daniyal Aziz as well as representatives of some Opposition parties, has been working on the issue.
It has prepared a plan under which 35 subjects out of a total of 47 are to be transferred to the provinces and more powers given to provincial finance commissions. The minister further disclosed that not all parties represented on the committee agreed with the present proposal, and that a consensus is yet to be achieved.
It is unclear which of the 47 subjects on the Concurrent List are to be handed to the provinces and which ones the government intends to retain, at least for now. Apparently, the parties that do not agree with the proposal on the table want the government to make a complete transfer as per the constitutional provision. Removal of 35 subjects from the Concurrent List is not a bad start.
Nonetheless, it is also true that as per the Constitution the Concurrent List should have been done away with a long time ago, but successive governments kept ignoring the requirement. They did so partly out of an old habit because of which the pre-1971 rulers used the slogans of 'national solidarity' and 'integrity' to concentrate power at the Centre, and partly because the Concurrent List allowed the rulers that followed to maintain large cabinets and auxiliary departments that they have been using to win political support or to reward their trusted cronies.
The practice, without a doubt, has contributed to exacerbation of provincial grievances, weakening the federation and leading to duplication of efforts by the provinces and the federation in many different areas, thereby causing unnecessary big financial burdens to the national exchequer.
Now that the government has set out in the right direction, it is hoped that it would not take long in deciding to transfer the remainder of the Concurrent List subjects to the provinces in accordance with the relevant constitutional provision. It must also ensure that other constitutional mechanisms meant to create inter-provincial harmony also work efficiently and effectively.
The Council of Common Interests must meet regularly to sort out contentious issues. And, of course, the resource distribution formulas for the Federal Finance Commission must be re-defined to the satisfaction of all federating units without any further loss of time. A fair settlement of issues involved can surely serve as a good model for the provincial finance commissions to follow.
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