ISLAMABAD: Chairing a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) after a year-long hiatus, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that all provinces would be given their fair share of funds.
According to details, talks on national-level issues between centre and provinces were held in 41st CCI session which met with a 16-point agenda. All four chief ministers and provincial chief secretaries attended the meeting.
PM @ImranKhanPTI chaired CCI Meeting today #PrimeMinisterImrankhan pic.twitter.com/gWZ8EGEgNu
— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 23, 2019
“Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab would be given their fair share of the money,” the premier said while adding that the government would resolve the complexities pertaining to the issue of funds’ allotment.
Rules dictate that the CCI should meet at least once every 90 days, however, it had not been convened since November 2018. In its last meeting, CCI members had expressed concern over the rapid population growth and decided to constitute national and provincial task forces to be headed by the prime minister and chief ministers.
The agenda also included a discussion on the amended petroleum policy and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import, amendment to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Ordinance 2002, and the issues of a no-objection certificate (NoC) for the installation of a 25MW hydropower project located on Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal, as well as the distribution of natural resources under Article 158 and 172.
Sindh has opposed the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) issuing a no-objection certificate for the installation of a 25 megawatt hydropower plant on the CJ link canal.
The province believes that CJ link canal is neither a perennial canal nor a flood canal, therefore, a hydropower power plant could not be built on it. It also argues that IRSA is not a competent forum to issue the NOC.
Sindh is also against the amendment to the Petroleum Policy 2012 under which the provincial government would have to pay 5 per cent of the expenditures of the exploration work even if it did not succeed.
A summary about the privatisation of the Haveli Shah Bahadur and Balloki Power Plants has also been sent to the council for a decision.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) deducting withholding tax at source from the provinces’ accounts was also on the agenda.
Balochistan would raise the province’s stance over its claim on its natural resources in light of the 18th Amendment as well as its water issue with Sindh under the 1991 IRSA treaty.
Further, the Alternate Energy Policy 2019 was also to be presented for approval, while a discussion on the appointment of the Water and Power Development Authority’s (WAPDA) chairperson and members was also on the agenda.
As per the December 23 meeting’s agenda, the CCI’s annual reports would be submitted in the next session for approval.
On December 18, President Arif Alvi had reconstituted the CCI on the prime minister’s advice.
According to the notification, the new council would comprise seven members and be chaired by the PM. Members of the council would include chief ministers of the four provinces and nominees of the federal government including, Planning Minister Asad Umar, Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Fehmida Mirza, and Power Minister Omar Ayub.
An earlier session of the CCI meeting scheduled for December 11 was postponed owing to the excess agenda shared by Sindh.
