| 21 January 2004 | Wednesday | 28 Ziqa'ad 1424 |
Ambiguity over Baglihar
Wrong priorities
Reports of Monday's National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting indicate that the federal government has finally been persuaded to enhance the share of the provinces in the divisible pool to 50 per cent in the next NFC award. This is a positive development.
There are far too many activities which the federal government has assumed over the years, specially in the social sector like health and education which it should immediately transfer to the provinces. In fact, if one goes by the federal principles the centre should keep with it only residual subjects and not the other way about.
This will make it possible for it to gradually reduce its share in the divisible pool to 20-25 per cent. However, in the given context, it may not be time yet to confine the federal government to only four subjects - finance, foreign affairs, defence and communications - with even foreign trade going to the provinces. In order for the provinces to take over the main administrative and developmental responsibilities and leaving the residual activities for the centre, they will have to improve their resource generating potential.
In this connection, one hopes that the briefing given to the NFC members by the CBR chairman on new ideas for improving provincial revenueswould prove helpful. With the provinces improving their revenue positions and the centre gradually raising the share of the provinces in the divisible pool to 50 and then to 70 per cent over a period of, say, 15-20 years, the concept of real provincial autonomy would finally materialize.
Meanwhile, it is also necessary that the NFC agrees to an equitable formula for distribution of resources among the provinces. Population alone cannot be the prime determinant. This formula has two drawbacks. It will keep Punjab always ahead of the three smaller provinces, creating bitterness and resentment among the people of Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP against Punjab which in turn would undermine national unity and harmony.
Secondly, it will serve as a perpetual disincentive for the provinces to control their population growths. Weightage to backwardness, area and, of course, to some degree, to the current revenue earning capacity of a province (after adjusting that part of the revenue which one province earns because of economic activities in others) should also be considered for inclusion in the distribution formula. The issue of gas development surcharge and the claim of the NWFP regarding its share in the profits of Tarbela (though this one is not in the NFC terms of reference) should also be tackled at the earliest.
It is also necessary for the NFC to review the debt burden of the provinces. Most of this burden is artificial as the federal government had forward lent on very costly terms to the provinces out of loans it had obtained from multilateral and bilateral donors at cheap rates. These terms should be rationalized forthwith.
Also, provincial finance commissions should be set up immediately so that the provinces deal directly with local governments. This is how it should be in a federation. Whoever holds the purse strings calls the tune. So, in order for the provinces to have a more direct and meaningful equation they - and not the federal government - must be the principal source of financial help for the latter.
Ambiguity over Baglihar
The three-day round of talks held between commissioners of Pakistan and India heading the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) ended on an ambiguous note in Islamabad on Sunday. Both sides refused to commit themselves to any progress having been made on the contentious issue of the construction of the Baglihar power plant by India upstream of the Chenab river in Kashmir.
The statement issued by the two commissioners said that they would report the proceedings of the talks to their respective governments which would decide whether the latest round of talks has been a success or a failure. The ambiguity once again points to the ambivalence that marks bilateral relations between Pakistan and India, where dialogue at all levels - even at a technical level - hinges on the political will of the two governments to accommodate or reject a position taken on a given issue by them.
Because of the recent spirit of guarded accommodation shown by the two countries towards one another, the PIC commissioners have refused to come out with a categorical statement as to the apparent failure of the recent round of talks.
As for the Baglihar hydroelectric plant and the dam being built to activate it, Pakistan believes the project to be in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 which was brokered by the World Bank. India has so far rejected Pakistan's objections to the project, insisting that it would not reduce the quantity of water that flows downstream in the Chenab river into Pakistan, and over which Pakistan has exclusive rights of use as laid down in the treaty.
The Baglihar project is said to be near completion and if work is not halted, the hydroelectric plant is set be become functional later this year. This once again underscores the need for an urgent and serious round of talks on the issue at the political level. It is good to note that the Indian technical-level team members have assured their Pakistani counterparts that they would do all they can to allay Pakistan's "misgivings" regarding the project. This can serve as a good starting point for the talks to be held on the issue at the political level.
Wrong priorities
In its annual report released recently, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), which is the representative body of medical practitioners in the country, has shed light on some of the glaring inconsistencies seen in the health sector. The report is critical of the way doctors are currently trained. It says that the public sector medical colleges have a poor system of selection and this has a long-term adverse effect on the delivery of health services in country.
On the other hand, says the report, the government has adopted a very liberal policy of allowing private medical colleges to be set up and run. The PMA says that these institutions produce substandard doctors. It also says that while there is a huge need for medical practitioners in the country, several thousands of them remain unemployed owing to the wrong priorities and policies of the government.
The PMA also points out that a particular point of imbalance in the medical profession is that very little is being done to train paramedical staff. This has resulted in a shortage of qualified nurses with the current ratio of one nurse to eight doctors.
It is time the government adopted a more balanced and realistic approach to the selection, training and placement of medical professionals and paramedics in the country. It should formulate its policies on this after taking into account what the long-term requirements of the health sector are.
It is not good enough to keep on producing doctors when the need for nurses and other categories of paramedics is greater. Efforts also need to be made to ensure that both public and private sector medical colleges are able to maintain the required standards of teaching and training.