The government of Sindh has approached the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to bar federal government from misuse of forums such as the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet and Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) against Article 154 of the Constitution by taking decisions which negatively impact provinces, well-informed sources in Sindh government told Business Recorder from Karachi.
The CCI, which is scheduled to meet on August 28, 2017 with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the chair, is expected to discuss this issue in detail. Sindh is expected to get support from KPK government. According to sources, in the recent months the Economic Co-ordination Committee of the Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Energy, the federal government, by overstretching its domain, has taken several decisions on subjects on natural gas and electricity. A few examples of arbitrary decisions of the ECC and the CCoE include RNLG imports, its pricing, utilization, transmission, distribution, mixing and swapping with indigenous gas, construction of RLNG based power plants in Punjab from federal Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), issuance of guidelines to Ogra for upward tariff determination and adjustment of phenomenally high Unaccounted for Gas (UfG) percentages in the tariff for securing profitability of Sui Companies, dismantling of gas pricing agreement of Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) from cost plus formula to crude oil based formula, etc. Article 154 of the Constitution clearly stipulates that the Council of Common Interests (CCI) is the competent forum to formulate and regulate policies in relation to matters of part-II of the Federal Legislative List and may exercise supervision and control over related subjects.
The sources further stated that natural gas, projects owned wholly or partially by the federation, electricity and related incidental matters appear at entry number 2, 3, 4& 18, part II, federal legislative list, respectively. Thus, CCI is the only competent forum to formulate policies on such matters in part II, federal legislative list.
"The ECC and CCoE are fora where provinces have no representation. National press resultantly is the only source of information for the decisions taken in these fora. Formulation of policy by ECC and CCoE on any matter appearing in part II, Fourth Schedule, Federal Legislative List is clearly an encroachment in the functions of the CCI," the sources quoted Chief Secretary Sindh as claiming in a summary for the CCI.
Sindh government maintains that in order to ensure sanctity of Constitution of Pakistan, CCI is requested to issue the following directions to the federal government: (i) desist from use of diverse fora like ECC and CCoE for formulation of policy on matters falling in the part II, Fourth Schedule, Federal Legislative List; (ii) place all such policy matter decided by ECC or CCoE before CCI for discussion and decision; and (iii) strictly implement the mandate of the CCI in pursuance of article 155 of the Constitution.
The sources said, Sindh government has also requested the CCI to allocate 1200 cusecs (650.5 MGD) additional water for Karachi city (K-4 project). The provincial government argues that the CCI should allocate water from Sindh from Centre''s share.