Fair Share of Natural Resources – Isn’t it About Time?
Division of natural resources has been a controversial issue for a long time in Pakistan. Recently, members of Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms have agreed to a joint share of Federation and Provinces in the natural resources ie, lands, minerals and other things of value within the continental shelf or underlying the ocean within the territorial waters of Pakistan, according to sources.
Text of Article 172 (2) :
“(2) All lands, minerals and other things of value within the continental shelf or underlying the ocean within the territorial waters of Pakistan shall vest in the Federal Government.”
The sources said that after the addition of a new clause, any province will have joint territorial ownership of the ocean within 12 nautical miles limit of its jurisdiction with federation. The committee also decided the Federation could not install any hydel project for power generation without the consultation of the concerned province.
According to sources, Council of Common Interests (CCI) would take decisions on all matters relating to provincial autonomy in Federal Legislative List part-II in future. The members of the Committee strongly recommended strengthening of the CCI to resolve all the matters of Federal Legislative List part-II and disputes among the provinces and federation.
The sources said that Committee Chairman Mina Raza Rabbani is taking up first those matters on which the parties have fewer differences. Clauses that have attracted strong reservations of the provinces would be taken up by the committee later. The committee is discussing clause by clause Federal Legislative List for the last four days. The sources said that there are differences among the nationalist and mainstream political parties on Articles-21, 29, 32, 34,49 and 53 of Federal Legislative List Part-I.
