LAHORE, March 5: A lethargic-looking Punjab Assembly on Monday took up only three queries in the entire question-hour, with opposition and treasury wasting most of the time in praising their respective leaders rather than discussing the health sector.
The chair kept asking the members, whose gossips among themselves were too loud to allow smooth functioning of the house, to be serious in the debate but they did not care. The only policy matter that came up for discussion was the recruitment of doctors on an ad hoc basis.
The minister maintained that the policy was necessary to send new recruits to rural areas. He said those recruited on permanent basis used their political influence to return to big cities. He said the ad hoc recruitments were always area-specific and doctors could not be transferred.
The minister agreed to a questioner that some doctors might be misusing ambulance service and every hospital should have a visible board giving details of the services, their procedure and cost. The minister promised that such boards would soon be put up in all hospitals.
The chair asked the minister to also place a complaint register along each such board so that all those failing to get ambulance service could lodge their complaints. The minister promised to arrange such a register as well.
During the question-hour, the speaker kept asking the members to stop talking to each other and let the house run smoothly.
BILL: The house passed The University of Education (Amendment), Lahore, Bill 2006, as there was no amendment in any of its 14 clauses.
Law Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja moved the bill which was passed with a majority vote. The minister also laid down The Punjab Judicial Academy Ordinance 2007 and report on observance and implementation of principles of policy for the year 2005.
MOTIONS: The chair postponed over 50 adjournment motions regarding the law and order in the province, saying that March 14 had already been fixed for a debate on the issue and taking up these motions separately did not make sense.
The chair handed over a privilege motion by Ch Tasnim Nasir to the house committee in which he had maintained that the headmistress of a high school in his constituency had misbehaved with him.
Nasir said he had also taken a `recommendation’ by the minister for education to the headmistress, who refused to entertain him.
According to him, he brought the matter to the notice of the EDO concerned but instead of taking the headmistress to task, he “further insulted me by refusing to do the needful.”
Mr Nasir termed the conduct of the two government officials “trampling of his privilege” and wanted the chair to refer the matter to the Committee on Privileges. The chair took no time in obliging the member.
Earlier, the house took up two call attention notices regarding the murder of a police inspector at Gujranwala and gang-rape of a nine-year child in Toba Tek Singh. In both cases, the law minister maintained that investigation was under way.
Later, the house was adjourned to meet again on Tuesday at 10am.