ISLAMABAD -  The meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) has been convened for April 28, 2017 to discuss the implementation of Article 154 of the Constitution, GN Kazi formula for the distribution of net hydel profit and the National Water Policy.

Similarly, the 12-point agenda of the 31st meeting include provision of 1,200 cusecs of extra water to Sindh province for water supply to Karachi. The meeting, to be held on April 28th, will be presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and will be attended by the chief ministers of all the four provinces.

According the agenda of the meeting available with The Nation, the CCI will discuss supply of gas to localities/villages in five kilometre radius of gas producing field MNPR, short supply of water in Pat Feeder and Kirther canals, resolution of energy problems of Balochistan.

Establishment of Fiscal Coordination Committee Finance Division, Nepra’s annual Report 2014-15 and state of industry report 2015 by cabinet division, Implementation of Article 154 of the constitution government of Sindh, National Water Policy, Implementation of Kazi Committee Methodology for calculation of Net Hydel Profit, Allocation of 1,200 cusecs (650.5MGD) additional water for Karachi City (K-VI project) Government of Sindh, will be discussed in the meeting.

The meeting will also discuss the draft bill for the establishment of National Metrology Institute of Pakistan (NMIP) and senior citizens privileges. In its summary on the implementation of Article 154 of the constitution, the Sindh government has said that in the recent months, Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE), by over stretching their respective domain, have taken several decisions on subjects of natural gas and electricity.

For example, arbitrary decisions of the ECC and CCoE are import of RLNG, its pricing, utilisation, transmission, distribution, mixing and swapping with indigenous gas, construction of RLNG-based power plants in the Punjab from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), issuance of policy guidelines to the Ogra for upward tariff determination and adjustment of phenomenally-high unaccounted for gas (UFG) percentage in the tariff for securing profitability of Sui companies, dismantling of gas pricing agreement of Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) from cost plus formula to crude oil-based formula etc. The Sindh government has said that Article 154(1) mandates the CCI as the only competent authority to formulate and regulate policies in relation to matters in the Part-II of the Federal Legislative List and has the sole authority of supervision and control over related institutes.

Natural gas, projects owned wholly or partially by the federation, electricity and related incidental matters appear at Entry 2, 3, 4 and 18, federal legislative list, respectively. Thus, the CCI is the only competent forum to formulate policies on such matter appearing at Part-II, Federal Legislative list.

The ECC and the CCoE are partisan for a wherein provinces have no representation. Formulation of policy by the ECC and the CCoE on any matter appearing in Part-II, fourth schedule, federal legislative list is clear encroachment in the function of the CCI. The province of Sindh has requested the CCI to direct the federal government to desist from use of diverse forum such as the ECC and the CCoE for formulation of policy on matters falling in the part-II, fourth schedule, federal legislative list, to place all such policy matters decided by the ECC or the CCoE before the CCI for discussion and decision and to strictly implement the mandates of the CCI in pursuance of Article 154 of the Constitution.

The meeting will also review the status of important decisions of the CCI meetings held on December 16, 2016, inquiry into corruption charges in Kachi Canal, matters pertaining to higher education and other similar bodies in post-18th Amendment scenario, formulation of National Flood Protection Plan-IV, import of LNG, sixth population and housing census, National Forest Policy 2015, settlement of NHP issue between the Wapda and the Government of Punjab and amendments in the regulation of generation, transmission and distribution of Electric Power Act 1997.