LAHORE: The caretaker Punjab cabinet is scheduled to consider closure of several public sector companies on Monday (today) which officials said would be taken as an act of permanent nature not allowed to this set up under the Election Act 2017.

According to a copy of the cabinet meeting agenda, following 36 companies, a majority of them active, are on the list of the agenda item on winding up of the inactive public sector companies.

Of them a few are inactive. The remaining include Quaid-i-Azam Hydle Power Company, Punjab Renewable Energy Company. Punjab Coal Power Company, Quaid-i-Azam Wind Power Company, waste management companies in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan and Bahawalpur, Lahore parking and cattle market companies, parking company in Faisalabad and cattle market companies in Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan.

The law department had earlier advised the government that the companies could be closed down only after following legal procedures.

The cattle companies were created by the Shehbaz Sharif government after amending the Local Government Act.

Another important item on the agenda includes re-checking, de-politicizing different sub-committees of cabinet, steering committees, working groups, task forces, commissions and board of directors of public sector companies in departments.

A senior official told Dawn that the caretaker government had already been told that NAB was probing affairs of many companies which were also facing audit objections. And these could not also be closed down before clearance from the auditor general and NAB.

The cabinet would also be told that closing down cattle committee required amendment in the law which it could not do. “We are at the most going to suggest de-politicizing of these companies,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2018