ISLAMABAD: A Senate committee on Wednesday lodged a strong protest with the federal government for not including development projects recommended by senators in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2020-21.

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said that rules of business were silent as to what to do with recommendations of the senators and that formulating the budget was the prerogative of the government.

He said a committee would be constituted soon with representation from members of both houses of parliament to analyse the implementation status of development schemes.

This was the crux of a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives to consider the recommendations of members of the Senate regarding the PSDP in the Budget Statement 2020-21. Senator Agha Shahzaib Khan Durrani presided over the meeting.

The senators decided to boycott proceedings of the meeting and announced that in protest no recommendation would be given to the National Assembly on the PSDP for the budget for 2020-21.

Minister argues rules silent about the matter

Mr Durrani observed that senators were public representatives and took steps for resolution of problems of the people and for development and welfare of their areas.

He said that each year senators tried their best to have numerous schemes and projects included in the PSDP for welfare and prosperity of people of their respective provinces, but it was a pity that their recommendations were not made part of the final budget.

Senator Usman Kakar said that every constituency and every district of Balochistan needed development work, but it was strange that their recommendations were not implemented and until senators were given assurance of implementation of their recommendations, there was no use of seeking recommendations.

Senators Kalsoom Parveen, Mir Kabeer Muhammad Shahi and Naseebullah Bazai were also of the opinion that not incorporating the Senate’s recommendations in the PSDP was an insult to the Senate.

He said that senators should be heard when provincial projects were being finalised and the development projects should not be entirely based on recommendations of provincial governments and suggestions of members of the National Assembly.

Senator Hidayatullah said that he had been presenting PSDP recommendations for the last eight years, but none of them had been accepted.

Minister for Planning Asad Umar said that it was stated in the rules of Senate that the house would make recommendations within two weeks of the budget statement, but nothing had been mentioned afterwards as to what would be the course of action on those recommendations.

He said the budget was the prerogative of the federal government and the National Assembly which had to pass it. He said that when it came to PSDP projects the provinces had the most important and central role to play and the federal government could not add any project or scheme not approved by provinces.

The minister told the committee that provinces were represented in Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) and the Central Development Working Party (CDWP).

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2020