KP govt introduces bill to wriggle out of PHC decision

Transfer of assets

PESHAWAR: In order to wriggle out of the decision of Peshawar High Court (PHC), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has introduced a bill in the provincial assembly for transferring the assets of Sarhad Development Authority to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Management and Development Company.

On August 10, the provincial government tabled a bill in the assembly for taking over the industrial estates or economic zones of the Sarhad (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Development Authority by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Management and Development Company and to transfer all its assets and liabilities including employees to the said company.

A PHC division bench, comprising Justice Nisar Hussain and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, on March 10, 2016 disposed of a petition challenging the ‘proposed’ dissolution of the Sarhad Development Authority with the direction to the provincial government not to transfer any assets of the authority to a company established last year. The court did not endorse the provincial government’s decision about the SDA’s dissolution through an executive order.

The bench also ruled that the SDA assets already transferred to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Management and Development Company, including Rs125 million cash, should be returned to the authority. The court also asked the government not to issue any order which could affect the services of the SDA employees.

To avoid another verdict against the transfer of assets, the provincial government quickly moved a bill in the assembly after promulgation of the ordinance regarding transfer of SDA assets and its employees to the company.

As per the bill, the act may be called the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Taking Over of the Industrial Estates or Economic Zones Act, 2016. It was stated that “On coming into force of this act, all the industrial estates or economic zones shall stand transferred from the authority to the company and the authority shall cease to exist.”

About the status of the employees, the bill stated that notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force on the commencement of this act, all employees shall stand transferred to the company, provided that the company shall give option to the employees either to continue to serve the company on their existing terms and conditions as specified in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Development Authority Rules, 2015, made under the repeated Act, or to continue to serve the company on terms and conditions given by the company including ‘golden hand shake’.

However, after the PHC decision the provincial government promulgated an ordinance on July 22 through which all the assets of the SDA were directed to be transferred to the company.However, the SDA Employees Federation and 318 employees filed another petition challenging the transfer of the assets and employees to the company through the ordinance.

It was stated in the petition that promulgation of the ordinance during assembly session is a clear violation of Article 189 of the Constitution read with Article 4 and 25 thereof, and requested to be declared as void.

The lawyers dealing with the companies and service cases told The News that if the provincial assembly passed the bill, the government would be on safe side. Senior Supreme Court lawyer Ijaz Anwar said that after passage of the bill from assembly, the employees would either agree to join the company on its terms and conditions or amend their writ petition.

A week ago, the PHC had asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advocate general to assist the court as to whether the provincial government could transfer the SDA assets worth billions of rupees through an ordinance to the newly established company.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Roohul Amin Khan also passed an interim order that the position of employees of the SDA would remain the same till the final order of the court.