LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Friday unanimously passed the Punjab Public Representatives’ Law (Amendment) Bill 2016 revising the emoluments of the parliamentary secretaries and members of the Punjab Assembly from July 1, 2015.

Previously the emoluments were revised in 2006.

Explaining the joint efforts of treasury and opposition for the finalization and passage of the bill, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah could not stop himself from taunting the opposition for `muk muka’ (compromise) for its vested interests.

Mr Sanaullah said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif initially did not agree to raise the emoluments and stressed that opposition must be taken on board. Acknowledging the opposition’s support for raise in the salary package of MPAs, he said the treasury-opposition committee had finalised the bill. He said the chief minister again objected when the treasury suggested that the pay raise should be implemented from July 1, 2015, and again stressed that opposition should be taken on board.

Consequently, he said, the treasury and opposition members again sat together and reached the decision that the pay raise should be implemented from back date.

“Had the opposition, particularly PTI members, not agreed to `muk muka’ the pay raise issue would not have been finalised and passed unanimously,” he said.

The house also unanimously passed the Punjab Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Bill 2015. The bill is said to become instrumental in protecting the health of working mothers ante and post natal other than six weeks allowed under the existing provision. The bill said that such woman workers would not be engaged in work of arduous nature or which involved long hours of standing or which might adversely affect their health. It said that such period of protection is proposed to be one month immediately preceding and succeeding six weeks before or after the delivery. “This measure will help protect the health of mother and child,” the bill said.

Earlier, Opposition Leader Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed stood up and said that it had been revealed that the Punjab government had diverted dozens of development works’ funds for the Orange Line Train project. He demanded that the law minister should assure the house that the Punjab government would not utilize the already allocated development funds on the train project.

The law minister said that he would assure the house only if the opposition gave an assurance that it would stop propaganda over the issue. Adding insult to injury, the law minister said that it had become opposition’s fate to continue wailing on all issues. “They began making hue and cry in 2013 and will continue to do so till 2018,” he said.

The opposition leader said parliamentarians were the custodian of rights of 100 million people living in Punjab. He said if the treasury did not give an assurance over the issue, it should be ready to face strong opposition.

Rasheed moved an adjournment motion about the stocking of fertilizers in godowns and keeping the wheat in the open, while other opposition members tabled an adjournment motion seeking a ban on LPG decanting in residential areas.

Parliamentary secretary for law Nazar Gondal said the fertilizers was available in abundance and there would be no shortage during the season and added that he would make sure that wheat was protected.

About LPG cylinders, he said, the government had issued instructions and those violating the standard operating procedures were being checked and punished.

In the question hour, the house took up questions about the Punjab Home Department.

Speaker Rana Iqbal adjourned the session till Monday.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2016

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