October 21, 2003	Tuesday	Sha'aban 24, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 20: The ruling party members in the National Assembly on Monday questioned about a huge difference between the salaries and allowances of the heads of some regulatory bodies and the elected parliamentarians.

They asked why the remuneration of senior officers of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) was greater than that of the elected lawmakers, though some of the parliamentarians were even more qualified than many of officers of these organizations.

The parliamentarians were so concerned about this matter that while discussing it during the question hour, Dr Sher Afghan went to the extent of asking his colleagues to raise their hands if they were not satisfied with their salaries, saying he was in fact conducting a referendum. The entire house, excluding the opposition that had walked out of the session, raised their hands.

Dr Afgan also drew a comparison of the allowances of the MNAs and MPAs to show that the allowances of the National Assembly members were far less than those of the provincial lawmakers.

According to him, the MNAs were getting a daily allowance of Rs1,150 while their provincial counterparts were getting Rs2,450 per day. He also expressed doubts about the promise that the salaries of the members would be raised by Nov 16, 2003.

A written statement shows that monthly salary of Ogra Chairman Munir Ahmad, MSc in petroleum geology, with a 36-year experience in gas sector, category M-I, is about Rs160,000, with maximum house allowance of Rs70,000 per month, Rs8,000 to pay for monthly utilities, 340 litres of petrol per month, with a chauffeur-driven car (1,600 CC) maintained at Ogra’s expense for official and private use.

Whereas Jawaid Inam, member gas, and Rashid Farooq, member oil, both in category M-II, are getting Rs80,000 per month (salary) each, Rs50,000 house rent allowance, Rs4,000 for utilities per month, 270 litres petrol per month, chauffeur driven cars (1,300 CC) maintained at the government expense.

Mr Inam has got the BSc degree in fuel science and technology while Mr Farooq is a Bachelor of chemical engineering and has a master’s in energy engineering.

About Nepra Chairman Saeeduz Zafar, who is a Bachelor of engineering and has passed MSc in war studies, it was stated that terms and conditions were yet to be decided in his case, but his substantive pay was Rs75,000 per month, allowances and qualification pay Rs4,300 per month. He also enjoys the facility of a furnished and maintained accommodation, 1,300 CC officially maintained car, with 400 litres of petrol per month etc.

“Why is this huge disparity when some of the members were more qualified than these officers?” asked Chaudhry Shahid Akram Bhinder. He also asked the chair whether the salaries of the MNAs would also be brought at par with those of these officers.

The lawmakers became so serious that Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain had to ask Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz to satisfy parliamentarians on the issue of their remuneration.

The minister told the house that the matter had already been discussed during a cabinet meeting and the parliamentary affairs division was asked to prepare recommendations in this regard. “The moment the recommendations are received, they will be placed before the house,” the minister said.

But Chaudhry Bhinder was not satisfied with the reply and warned that the members would not accept government’s proposals if finalized without consultation with them. “The house is empowered enough to decide about its own affairs,” he observed.

The members also suggested that the government officers who failed to produce results should be fired immediately.

Parliamentary Secretary for Cabinet Asjad Ali Malhi explained that the government did not interfere in the day to day affairs of the regulatory bodies as these were autonomous.