ISLAMABAD: Punjab rules the roost in civil bureaucracy as it occupies 116 out of total 179 secretary-level posts in federal government departments, according to a report provided to the Senate on Friday by the Establishment Division.

Out of these 116 Punjabi officers, 28 were secretaries or acting secretaries, 20 deputy and 68 joint secretaries. The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) stood second with 31 high-ranking officers, seven of them secretaries, six deputies and 18 joint secretaries. Sindh has 19 officers, seven of them secretaries, three deputy secretaries and nine joint secretaries. Balochistan has the lowest representation in civil bureaucracy with only one secretary and two joint secretaries.

One secretary and two deputy and joint secretaries each from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and five joint secretaries from Northern Areas (NAs) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are in the federal government, the report says.

The Economic Affairs Division told the Senate that foreign community pledged $6.53 billion during the Donors’ Conference, organised to collect funds for relief and rehabilitation operations in the earthquake-affected areas. The Senate was informed that $2.438 billion was pledged as grant and the remaining $4.092 billion as soft loans. Only $18 million grant has been received so far. The soft loans are for relief and reconstruction projects and only $285 million loans have been received so far, the Senate was informed.

It was told that $1.1 billion had been used for relief while $5.4 billion was set aside for long-term rehabilitation projects. The Finance Ministry told the Senate that an under-consideration proposal suggested that the House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) write off loans of government employees whose houses were damaged during the earthquake.

The Cabinet Division informed the Senate that most of the producers sold Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to private marketing companies at Rs 17,000 a metric tonne (excluding government taxes) in December 2005. The companies sold the same in the market at Rs 36,000 per metric tonne (including taxes, duties, operating cost and transportation charges). The house was further informed that there was no ‘cap price’ on the sale of LPG to common consumers and that the public sector LPG consumers informally agreed in September, 2004 with the federal government to fix the LPG price at Rs 17,000 a metric tonne for marketing companies. The LPG marketing companies have fixed the LPG price for common consumers as per the deregulation policy of the government since September 15, 2000.

The house was told that 23 private companies had been licensed for LPG marketing from 2002, however the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) did not allot them any LPG quota.

APP reported that the Senate was also told about an under-consideration proposal to appoint a federal insurance ombudsman. Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan said that the Law and Justice Division has already been asked to forward a panel of suitable people for the post. Dr Hafeez Sheikh, the privatisation minister, said that 22 entities were privatised in 2002, seven in 2003, nine in 2004 and 12 public sector entities were privatised in 2005.

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