Punjab Assembly increases perks for former CMs
The Punjab Ministers (Salary, Allowances and Privileges) (Amendment) (Repeal) Bill 2022, which would have increased provincial ministers’ salaries from Rs680,000 to Rs1,265,000, was allegedly passed by the Punjab Assembly, according to a number of tweets published in late October.
https://twitter.com/shehbeez/status/1583678147194560512?s=20&t=Zd9JO0PjWkaB5J1BGsj_jg
Separately, parliamentarians from the PML-N in Punjab said that the PML-Q and PTI coalition government had increased the salaries of cabinet members and reinstated the benefits of former chief ministers.
The accusations have some truth to them. The former chief minister’s benefits and privileges have been reinstated. However, the bill does not increase the pay of provincial ministers.
On October 18, the Punjab assembly passed the Punjab Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) (Amendment) (Repeal) Bill 2022 despite loud opposition protests.
The measure restored additional benefits for past chief ministers that had been eliminated by Hamza Shahbaz’s administration.
The PTI and PML-Q reinstated Section 21-A, which gives former chief ministers the following benefits, to the bill that was passed on October 18.
– Security, which includes two high-end police escort cars.
– Five personal staff members, at least two of them must be paid at least at scale level 17.
– As determined by the government, medical facilities for previous chief ministers and their families.
– The government-determined accommodations and services at all government rest houses.
– Any other benefits and privileges that the government thinks is appropriate.
Punjab Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) was the name of the original law, which was passed in 1975. The PTI administration amended the law to include Section 21-A in March 2019.
Section 21-A was changed to give past chief ministers with “appropriate and adequate protection” if they held the position for at least six months following the 2002 general election. This change was made in June, during the brief tenure of Hamza Shahbaz as chief minister. All other benefits were eliminated.
Punjab Assembly increases perks for former CMs
But in October, the PTI and PML-Q administration took back control and altered the law once more, reintroducing Section 21-A.
It’s interesting to note that the Punjab government approved the bill without sending copies to the opposition lawmakers for discussion.
When Azma Zahid Bokhari of the PML-N asked the assembly for a copy, the assembly members informed her that it had been declared “classified,” according to Azma Zahid Bokhari’s statement to Geo Fact Check.
Only after the Governor refused to sign the bill into law and sent it back for revision then Geo Fact Check was able to obtain it.
Increasing the benefits and privileges of past chief ministers “would entail considerable spending which will be a burden on the public exchequer,” the governor noted in his remarks.
