Senate Panel Demands 50% Oil and Gas Revenue Share for Provinces

The Senate Functional Committee on Devolution has directed the federal government to ensure that oil- and gas-producing provinces receive their constitutionally mandated 50% share of revenue generated from resources extracted within their territories.

The committee, chaired by Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro, reviewed the implementation of the 18th Constitutional Amendment concerning the distribution of oil and gas revenue.

Senator Ghumro said the federal government was receiving its constitutional share of oil and gas revenue, while producing provinces were being denied their due share. He warned that the continued delay was creating a sense of deprivation among the affected provinces.

The committee sought complete details of all oil and gas revenue payments made to the provinces during the past 16 years.

During the meeting, Senator Ghumro also expressed concern over the incomplete implementation of the 18th Amendment. He said that 17 federal ministries dealing with provincial and concurrent subjects had been transferred to the provinces through notifications issued on December 2, 2010, April 15, 2011, and June 29, 2011.

He maintained that the re-establishment of ministries dealing with provincial matters after June 30, 2011, was illegal.

According to the committee chairman, several areas, including education, health, national food security, culture and heritage, climate change, social initiatives, housing, Zakat and Ushr, the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution, and the Evacuee Trust Property Board, constitutionally fall under provincial jurisdiction.

He said the federal government claimed that the relevant ministries were only handling matters related to the Islamabad Capital Territory and federal obligations. However, he noted that the number of federal ministries had increased from the constitutionally envisaged nine to 31.

Senator Ghumro also raised concerns over the ineffective functioning of the permanent secretariat of the Council of Common Interests and called for the federal administrative system to be restructured in line with the Constitution.