The committee met with Senator Talha Mehmood in the chair here at the Parliament House on Thursday. The committee discussed the issues of National College of Arts, regularization of doctors/staff of cardiac department of PIMS, and development work of sector D-12 Islamabad.
Discussing the issue of doctors/staff of cardiac department PIMS, the committee expressed concern over non-extension of contracts of doctors as well as non-payment of salaries for several months. The members of the committee said that the doctors play vital role in the health of people and society but the government is ill-treating them.
They said that Dr Humayun Iqbal has been dismissed from PIMS due to his lapses but it is beyond comprehension why other doctors are punished and paying the price of their innocence. The secretary Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) told the committee that the doctors of Cardiac Center were allowed to privately check the patients in the evening but not in the morning.
The vice chancellor PIMS informed the committee that only two private operations were conducted in the morning and the amount of their charges was submitted to the accounts of PIMS. The members of the committee said that the contracts of doctors should be reviewed for making payments of their salaries.
About National College of Arts, the officials of Cabinet Division and National College of Arts (NCA) informed the committee that the NCA Rawalpindi is providing the education of arts subjects. They said that in view of its importance, an application has been submitted to set up a branch of NCR Rawalpindi in Islamabad.
For this purpose, 30 acres of land was allocated in the Zone-IV but it has not been provided so for, they said. On which, the chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) told the committee members that the CDA received an application in 2006 and 20 acres of land were reserved for the purpose. However, he said that it requires an approval of the Prime Minister for the land allocation.
The committee directed the CDA chairman to take immediate approval of the Prime Minister and complete the due process for allocation of land so that campus of National College of Arts in Islamabad could be setup. The standing committee also decided to prepare a report by comparing the bill of Senator Mohsin Aziz regarding real estate regulation and development with other such bills. Later the bill should be vetted by the Ministry of Law & Justice.
The committee also directed the Ministry of CADD to discuss the 'Islamabad Club Bill, 2017' and 'Gun & Country Club Bill, 2017' and submit its report in the next meeting. The committee chairman also sought details from the CDA for issuing 11 acres of land to the GHQ.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017