Sindh Assembly on Friday unanimously passed into law a 35-clause bill, allowing establishment of Gorakh Hills Development Authority (GHDA). It would bring a resolution demanding of the federal government to review privatisation of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) on Monday.
The session was attended by about 167 members, which started, as usual, late by two hours at 10:45 am, under the chairmanship of Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro. The house witnessed a brief argument between the MPAs from two coalition partners, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on the issue of tabling a resolution against KESC.
Khalid bin Wilayat of MQM tried to move a resolution calling upon Islamabad to immediately review the privatisation of KESC. MQM's Abdul Haseeb said while Ramazan was only few days away, masses were harbouring great unrest over 18-20 hours loadshedding on daily basis. Law Minister Ayaz Soomro said that the government was also concerned over the gloomy power crisis and was looking for different options, including making the sellers of the utility at a throwaway price accountable, to bring relief to the people.
He said the government was not only finding those Arab buyers of KESC who had fled from the country, but also finding out the agreement that was signed between the then government and the foreign company. Minister for Industries Abdul Rauf Siddiqui said that "all agreements are meant to benefit the masses but if they don't they should be revised."
Sardar Ahmed of MQM prevented Khalid from further argument when Soomro said a unanimous resolution would be moved in the next sitting of the house on Monday. The minister came with the same offer when Arif Mustafa Jatoi of National People's Party (NPP) proposed a deadline for the KESC, which if not met should be followed by a strict government action.
JOURNALISTS' WALKOUT: Meanwhile, journalists walked out to register protest against the alleged abduction of Hasan Abdullah, anchor and reporter of Dawn News, by intelligence agencies from Gulistan-e-Jauhar.
Information Minister Shazia Marri after noting down complaints of the media raised the issue on the floor and requested the house to call for an inquiry into violent actions against the journalists. On this, the law minister assured the journalists that the Law Department would conduct an immediate probe into the matter.
QUESTION HOUR: Project cost of RBOD-II has climbed to Rs 29 billion after despite tall claims the Musharraf regime had failed to complete the project within its allocated budget of Rs 14 billion, Minister for Irrigation and Power Saifullah Dharejo told the house during Question Hour.
Responding to a query of Arif Mustafa, the minister said the expected commissioning date of the project was 2009-10 depending upon timely release of the funds. He said Manchar Lake would be recharged from River Indus or hill torrents flow through Aral and Danistar Wah.
Dharejo said the life of Sukkur Barrage, commissioned in 1932 with command area of 30,89,068.0 hectares, was not mentioned specifically in relevant documents of the Barrage. About maintenance expenditure of the Barrage during 2007-08, he said it stood at Rs 13.349 million.
He said Sindh government had asked the federal government for Rs 2 billion for maintenance work at the Barrage. When asked if there was any report of water theft by Punjab of Sindh's share of water, the irrigation minister said it was the case when PPP took over but now no such incidents were witnessed. He also conceded that Sindh province had received thousands of cusecs of water less than that of fixed by Indus River System Authority (IRSA) as it share for the months of April and May this year.
Giving details of de-siltation work along the channels and the incurred expenditure during 2006-07 and 2007-08 in Taluka Johi, the minister claimed that the previous government had never executed its policy on re-modelling of Johi branch. He said the monitoring of water at Sukkur Barrage was being carried out manually, as the telemetry system that was introduced by the previous government after earning huge commissions, was lying non-functional at present.
Later, the house cleared Clause 1 and 2-35 (clubbed) of the Gorakh Hill Development Authority Bill, 2008 into law after members from two sides of the house welcomed the move as important and in the interest of the people of Sindh.
Those who spoke in favour of the bill included Sussi Palejo, Jam Tamachi, Rafique Engineer, Shazia Marri, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Ayaz Soomro, Anwar Mehar, Rauf Siddiqui, Heer Soho, Syed Sardar Ahmed, Kulsoom Chandio, Imran Lughari from treasury and Jam Madad Ali, Dr Rafique Bhanban, Arif Jatoi from the opposition. The speaker adjourned the house till Monday, September 1, 2008 at 9: 30 am.
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