ISLAMABAD, March 7, 2012: The ninth sitting of the Punjab Assembly witnessed low attendance of MPAs on Wednesday, as only two Members were present at the start and forty seven at the adjournment.

Starting one hour and 5 minutes behind schedule, the sitting lasted three hours and 40 minutes. A maximum of 112 MPAs were observed present at one point of the sitting.

The Quorum was pointed out by a female PML MPA. The bells were rung for five minutes but the sitting resumed after one hour and ten minutes.

Out of 32 Starred Questions listed for the Question Hour, fifteen were put up and responded by the relevant ministries. Thirty five supplementary questions were asked.

The House adopted three Bills; The Bank of Punjab (Amendment) Bill 2011, The Punjab Environmental Protection (Amendment) Bill 2011, The Punjab Local Government (Second Amendment) Bill 2012. Four bills were introduced;  The Punjab Zakat and Ushr Bill 2012, The Government Sadiq College Women University, Bahawalpur Bill 2012, The Government College Women University, Faisalabad Bill 2012 and The Government College for Women University, Sialkot Bill 2012.

Four Points Of Order consumed 5 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Punjab Assembly met for three hours and 40 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1105 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1000 hours. The House proceedings started one hour and 5 minutes late.
• The Speaker chaired the sitting.
• The Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition did not attend the sitting.
• Only the parliamentary leader of PML and MMAP attended the sitting.
• Two Members (0.5% of the Membership – 369) were present at the start while 47(13%) were there when the sitting was adjourned. A maximum of 112 Members (30%) were present at one point of the sitting.
• Three minority Members were present.

Representation and Responsiveness

• Out of 32 Starred Questions listed for the Question Hour, 15 were put up and responded by the relevant ministries. Thirty five supplementary questions were asked.
• No Adjournment Motions were raised during the sitting.
  

Output

• Three bills were passed by the House- The Bank of Punjab (Amendment) Bill 2011, The Punjab Environmental Protection (Amendment) Bill 2011 and The Punjab Local Government (Second Amendment) Bill 2012.
• Four bills were introduced- The Punjab Zakat and Ushr Bill 2012, The Government Sadiq College Women University, Bahawalpur Bill 2012, The Government College Women University, Faisalabad Bill 2012 and The Government College for Women University, Sialkot Bill 2012.
  

Order and Institutionalization

• Four Points Of Order consumed 5 minutes of the sitting time. However, none of the Points of Order attracted the Chair’s formal ruling.

Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to Legislators, observers and others.
• Information on Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.
• The Quorum was pointed out by a female PML MPA. The bells were rung for five minutes but the sitting resumed after one hour and ten minutes.

The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Punjab Assembly proceedings conducted by PATTAN Development Organization, a member organization of FAFEN