Concern over PAC working in PA

LAHORE

Legislators in Punjab Assembly on Tuesday expressed serious dismay over non-presentation of the Public Accounts Committee reports in the House pending for over a decade.

“Is this the way to run the House, there have been a number of reports pending in PAC since 2002 and still further extension of one year is being requested for laying them, is it a joke” said Ahmed Ali Malik, the PML-N legislator elected from Kasur while expressing serious concern over the request of extension in laying of the Auditor General report pending at PAC made by Mian Tariq, a member of Public Accounts Committee II. The mover had requested the House to grant extension of one year for nine reports pending in the committee since 2002-2003.

The PAC II is headed by Dr Mukhtar Ahmed Bherth.

Ahmed Ali Malik on the occasion opposed the request and asked Deputy Speaker Sardar Sher Ali Gorchani not to grant any further extension which would mean a mockery to the elected House. He also stated that the House must be told that what progress had been made on the pending reports since 2003 but it was really strange that the committee needed one more year to lay the reports.

Sher Gorchani, who was chairing the session, sought the sense of the House which voted in favour of the extension and it was granted.

Another PML-N legislator Sheikh Allauddin on a point of order also expressed concern over repeated extensions in laying the reports, adding that the already PA sessions were summoned after so much gap that members were even unable to recognise one another.

He stated that some of the adjournment motions he had submitted in the PA had been pending for last eight months but no debate had so far taken place over them. He also raised question how government could succeed in recovering the public money from the bodies when despite passage of 10 years, reports would still not be laid and extension would be granted.

Sheikh Allauddin protested further when his adjournment motion related with ‘Merchant Doctors’ which was submitted to PA secretariat in October last year was made pending till next week. Deputy Speaker Sher Gorchani on the occasion instructed the parliamentary secretary for Law Nazar Gondal to seek answer from the department concerned.

Sheikh Allauddin in the adjournment motion expressed serious concern over the way poor patients were being treated in the public hospitals and their exploitation in the hands of doctors working in private medical centres.

Citing the example of poor patient suffering from diabetes, Sheikh Allauddin stated that in a public sector hospital, a so-called ‘saviour’ advised him to consult a professor practising at a private clinic. He said when the patient asked about the total expenditures over his diabates treatment, he was told to arrange Rs0.3 million (3 lakh) and when the poor person expressed his helplessness to come up with such amount, he was ruthlessly told by the same ‘Messaih’ to get ready to see his leg chopped due to the disease.

Allauddin further told the House when this was made a test case and opinions were sought from a different doctor, it was revealed that a surgery which wasn’t longer than 15 minutes was needed for the said patient for which he was asked to pay Rs0.3 million by a so-called ‘Messiah’ who showed him the way to a private clinic while sitting in a public hospital.

The mover stated that he was surprised that what happened to the Supreme Court ruling which directed the private hospitals to allocate 30 percent beds for the poor patients. He drew the attention of the PA towards a hospital situated on Canal Road where a patient had to pay Rs9,000 for bed in a general ward whereas another private medical centre situated near a drain charged Rs6,000 daily from the patients of the general ward. He stated that some of the private hospitals even preferred to keep a child in a private ward for performing his circumcision and quoting Dr Mehmood Chaudhry, former Health Minister Punjab, Sheikh Allauddin stated that this country possessed many ‘Merchant Doctors. The adjournment motion was made pending till next week. Saadia Sohail, a PTI MPA on the occasion on a point of order also criticised the way poor patients were being treated in public sector hospital. She demanded action against the doctors who were not performing their duties well.

Sheikh Allauddin, through another adjournment motion raised serious concern over the economic murder of Punjab growers, agriculturists due to import of vegetables and fruits.He stated that import of 137 items including fruit such as banana, apple was allowed in the year 2012 and only in one year, an import of Rs26 billion took place from the neighbouring country. He said he couldn’t express the level of pain and agony faced by our growers and the way our currency was being sent to other nations in the name of import. He said that import of apple had cause serious blow to our growers and the agrilcuture sector, which is considered the backbone of our economy was under severe stress. He said that whenever the rates of our agriculture products get stable, hundreds of trucks cross carrying Indian vegetables, fruit and other agriculture products cross Wagah border which cause a huge loss to our growers. The adjournment motion was made pending till next week.

The PA was unable to take up resolutions of public interest in its private members day due to the absence of ministers in the House. The deputy speaker on the occasion announced that resolutions would be taken up in the next private members day.Sardar Shahabuddin, a PPP MPA on the occasion criticised the Punjab government and the cabinet members for their lack of seriousness towards assembly business.