PM allows Supreme Court to authorize government projects
For the first time, the Supreme Court can initiate and approve its own development projects without referring them to the government, provided the cost remains below Rs1 billion.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given the go-ahead for the apex court to constitute its own Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP), confirmed Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal.
The planning ministry had sought clarification from the prime minister, following an order from the Supreme Court, on whether the court could form its own project approval body.
Sources said the PM approved the ministry’s summary, authorizing the SC to establish the DDWP.
However, a major hurdle remains: the National Economic Council (NEC) has barred DDWPs from approving new projects until the completion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, citing fiscal constraints.
Under the Manual for Development Projects, schemes are approved by DDWPs, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), or the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
The DDWP, chaired by a federal secretary of the concerned ministry, can approve projects up to Rs1 billion.
CDWP, chaired by Planning Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Ahsan Iqbal, clears projects up to Rs7.5 billion, while ECNEC, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, handles projects above Rs7.5 billion.
Officials said the Planning Commission initially had reservations about the Supreme Court forming its own DDWP, arguing that as a constitutional body, the court is independent and not part of the federal government.
Documents show the Supreme Court notified its DDWP in December last year.
In January, the Planning Commission responded that only autonomous bodies could set up DDWPs for self-financed projects.
Projects cleared by these bodies are either financed through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) or self-financed by autonomous institutions.
The planning ministry maintained that only federal ministries and divisions could constitute DDWPs, which are headed by a secretary or Principal Accounting Officer, as per the Manual for Development Projects of December 2021.
Autonomous bodies can approve self-financed development projects through their respective DDWPs, subject to board or governor confirmation.
The Supreme Court, being a constitutional body, does not fall under a ministry or division.
Currently, the law and justice ministry handles its projects under the Rules of Business, 1973.
Last month, the planning ministry informed the Prime Minister’s Office that the Supreme Court had directed the planning secretary to submit the matter for PM’s orders.
The apex court also sent a fresh reference regarding the issue.
It argued that as a constitutional body under Article 175 of the Constitution, it must have autonomy to conceive, design, and approve infrastructure projects in accordance with its institutional requirements.
The court sought a DDWP headed by its registrar, who also serves as principal accounting officer.
The federal government or the Parliament does not enjoy any authority over the expenditure of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Expenses of constitutional bodies like the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Senate and National Assembly are approved by Parliament without the right to reduce or reject the amounts demanded.
Despite formal approval, however, until the NEC lifts its moratorium on the approval of the development schemes by DDWPs, the apex court may not be able to immediately approve any of its projects.
In June this year, the NEC, chaired by the prime minister, stopped DDWPs from approving new projects until the IMF programme is completed.
The ban was imposed to conserve resources. The planning ministry had observed that DDWPs were splitting large projects into smaller schemes to bypass CDWP scrutiny.
To a question, Ahsan Iqbal said only the NEC can lift the moratorium, and that too depending on available fiscal space.
For the current fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs1 trillion for development spending. This is half the financing need of ongoing projects.
The development budget is less than 1% of the size of the economy, down from 3% of the GDP just seven years ago.
The planning ministry is also struggling to fully utilise even this limited allocation.
During the first two months of the fiscal year, it spent only a fraction of the available funds.
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