Senate panel seeks devolution or transfer of 25 ministries, departments to provinces to cut federal spending by Rs6tr

According to Profit, a Senate subcommittee led by PPP senator Barrister Zamir Hussain Ghumro wants the federal government to shut 15 ministries and devolve or transfer various other bodies to the provinces and the Council of Common Interests (CCI). The panel gave the government two weeks to act, and the Cabinet Division has been asked to file an initial implementation report within 15 days.

The committee listed 15 ministries for closure, among them Health, Education, Water Resources, Railways and Petroleum, along with bodies including EOBI, PMDC, SIDCL and Wapda. It estimated that federal spending could fall from Rs19 trillion to Rs13 trillion, with annual savings of up to Rs6 trillion, if the centre were limited to nine ministries under Part-I of the Federal Legislative List, with a budget of Rs3.3 trillion.

The panel also wants matters under Part II of the Federal Legislative List moved to the CCI instead of the federal cabinet, and it wants the CCI rebuilt so all provinces stand on an equal footing. It rejected reliance on a 1997 Supreme Court judgment, citing a later parliamentary requirement that the body meet quarterly or sooner in urgent cases. Omar Rasool, secretary of the CCI Secretariat, said he had no objection and agreed the federal government should work within the constitutional framework.