LAHORE: The Federal Implementation Commission members would meet Punjab government departments officials on Monday to sort out different “contentious” issues related to dissolution of federal ministries, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The federal government had announced transferring 10 federal ministries to provinces, while Federal Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh had announced that five federal ministries would be shifted to provinces under the 18th Amendment by end of 2010.
According to details, the ministries being devolved included the Ministry of Population Welfare, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Zakat, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Special Initiatives including one project for Livestock Department and Department of LG&CD.
A delegation consisting of representatives from all these ministries held meetings with the provincial departments’ officials to sort out different issues and an agreement had been reached on many issues so far. The matters which have been agreed upon so far included shifting the National Internship Programme (NIP) to the
Department of Information, Culture and Youth Affairs and policy making and Zakat collection to the Zakat Department. But various issues, including the fate of federal government employees and departmental assets have become a bone of contention between the federal and Punjab departments.
Sources told Pakistan Today that the federal government wanted to shift responsibilities to provinces without transferring the requisite funds to run the affairs of the government departments. “The ministry wants to shift federal government employees to Punjab,
but is only willing to give two months salaries. Initially it was only a month’s salary, but after several meetings they agreed for paying salaries until December,” sources said. They said that various meetings have already been held between the centre and different provincial departments to sort out these issues and on November 29, the implementation commission would visit Punjab in this regard.
A senior official in the Population Welfare Department, seeking anonymity, said that the issue of various training centres working across Punjab with employees and assets was to be resolved. He said that all training centres in Punjab were being run by the federal government and “it is to be seen whether the federal government shifts employees only or the requisite finances as well”.
Sources in the LG&CD department said that the government was also considering the option of putting the federal government staff in the surplus pool, as the senior officials would “adjust” in other ministries and departments.
The Punjab Implementation and Coordination (I&C) Department was coordinating the entire process along with the law department for requisite litigation. Commenting on the issue, Implementation and Coordination Secretary Syed Mubashar Raza said,
“It is an ongoing process and there are various issues which came under discussion with the centre. Nothing can be said for sure before the implementation commission visits Punjab on Monday.
All administrative and financial issues will be deal with and finalised after the meeting.”
