An Act to amend the Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority Act, 2019
ACT XXVII OF 2019
PUNJAB AAB-E-PAK AUTHORITY
(AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019
[Gazette of Punjab, Extraordinary, 13th December, 2019]
No. PAP /Legis-2(32)/2019/2168.–The Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority (Amendment) Bill 2019, having been passed by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on November 20, 2019, and assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on December 10, 2019, is hereby published as an Act of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.
It is necessary to amend the Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority Act, 2019 for the purposes hereinafter appearing.
Be it enacted by Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as follows:
1. Short title and commencement.–(1) This Act may be cited as the Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority (Amendment) Act, 2019.
(2) It shall come into force at once and shall be deemed to have taken effect on and from 15 November 2019.
2. Amendment of Preambie of Act XII of 2019.–In the Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority Act, 2019 (XII of 2019), for brevity referred to as “the Act” for the Preamble, the following shall be substituted:
“It is necessary to establish the Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority responsible for provision of clean drinking water to the people of the Punjab, in consultation with the relevant entities including the local governments; and for the matters connected therewith and ancillary thereto.”.
3. Amendment of Section 2 of Act XII of 2019- In the Act, in Section 2:
(a) after clause (d), the following clause (dd) shall be inserted:
“(dd) “Code” means the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898);”;
(b) after clause (e), the following clause (ee) shall be inserted:
“(ee) “facilities” means the premises, installations, equipment, storage, packaging, static or mobile, piped or otherwise supply networks, materials registered or licensed under the Act for purposes of provision of clean drinking water;”; and
(c) in clause (f), for the figure “19”, the figure “17” shall be substituted.
4. Amendment of Section 4 of Act XII of 2019.–In the Act, in Section 4:
(a) in sub-section (1), after the word “shall”, the expression”, in the prescribed manner,” shall be substituted;
(b) in sub-section (1), for clauses (vi), (vii) and (xi), the following shall respectively be substituted:
“(vi) to design, fabricate, construct, install, build, commission, test, operate and maintain or cause to design, fabricate, construct, install, build, commission, test, operate and maintain schemes and water filtration plants for drinking water;
(vii) to develop or cause to develop an infrastructure as needed to provide drinking water, including setting up of bottling plants, and testing laboratories;
(xi) to devise and develop a model of designing, supervision, monitoring and evaluation of the execution of clean drinking water projects and their quality assurance system;”; and
(c) in sub-section (1), in clause (xii), for the full stop at the end, the expression “; and” shall be substituted; and thereafter, the following new clauses shall be inserted:
“(xiii) to register or cause to register facilities for provision of clean drinking water;
(xiv) to issue licenses to facilities engaged for provision of clean drinking water;
(xv) to maintain or cause to maintain a record including an electronic database of all registrations, licenses, inspections, and matters related or ancillary thereto; and
(xvi) to prescribe standards for clean drinking water”; and
(d) for sub-section (2), the following shall be substituted:
“(2) The Authority may also perform the following functions in such manner as may be prescribed:
(i) to liaise with companies, bodies, associations, societies, corporations, authorities, agencies, trust, charities, organizations, institutions whether in Pakistan or elsewhere, engaged in providing clean drinking water;
(ii) to aid, benevolent, charitable, national or other institutions or the objects which are engaged in providing clean drinking water and which in the opinion of the Authority warrant support;
(iii) to prepare, print, publish, broadcast and issue or cause to prepare, print, publish, broadcast and issue papers, surveys, journals, magazines, periodical reports, articles, bulletins, short message service, newsletters or conferences, audio-visual programmes, materials, graphics, statistics, advisories for circulation and communication, through any appropriate means, including electronic means, for the information, guidance, awareness, and education of the general public;
(iv) to provide a platform for research and development regarding provision of clean drinking water; and
(v) to prepare or cause to prepare databank, spatial data infrastructure, and disruptive technologies’ model for the transparency and optimization of services’ delivery in the discharge of its functions under the Act;
(vii) to execute specific drinking water supply projects of the Government or the concerned local governments with the agreement of the Authority;
(viii) to utilize existing surveys and databases of public health, including ONE-HEALTH of departments and agencies of the Government for matters related thereof or ancillary thereto, for the purpose of the Act; and
(ix) capacity building of the relevant institutions and the human resource to carry out its functions under the Act.”.
5. Amendment of Section 5 of Act XII of 2019.–In the Act, in Section 5:
(a) in sub-section (2), for the word “nine”, the word “eleven” shall be substituted;
(b) for sub-section (3), the following shall be substituted:
“(3) The Patron in Chief may provide strategic guidance to the Authority, and he may, from time to time, review the performance of the Authority to achieve the purposes of the Act.”; and
(c) for sub-section (4), the following shall be substituted:
“(4) The Chief Executive Officer of the Authority shall act as Secretary of the Governing Body and the Governing Body shall have the following five ex officio members:
(a) Principal Secretary to Governor of the Punjab;
(b) Secretary to the Government, Planning and Development Department;
(c) Secretary to the Government, Finance Department;
(d) Secretary to the Government, Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Department; and
(e) Secretary to the Government, Local Government and Community Development Department.”.
6. Amendment of Section 8 of Act XII of 2019.–In the Act, in Section 8:
(a) for sub-sections (1) and (2), the following shall be substituted:
“(1) The Chairman shall be elected from amongst the non-official members of the Governing Body for a non-extendable term of one year.
(2) The Chairman shall perform such functions as may be entrusted to him by the Governing Body from time to time.”; and
(b) sub-sections (3) and (4) shall be omitted.
7. Amendment of Section 10 of Act XII of 2019.–(1) In the Act, in Section 10 including the marginal heading, for the words “Chief Operating Officer”, wherever occur, the words “Chief Executive Officer” shall be substituted, and after sub-section (5), the following new sub-section (6) shall be added:
“(6) In addition to the powers and functions mentioned in sub-section (2), (3) and (4), the Chief Executive Officer shall:
(a) prepare and submit to the Governing Body a strategic plan for operation, management and functioning of the Authority and annual updates of the plan with respect to the major functions and operations of the Authority;
(b) prepare and submit to the Governing Body proposals with respect to such grants and allotments, contracts, other financial assistance, and designation of positions as are necessary or appropriate to carry out the objectives of the Authority;
(c) after receiving an approved proposal from the Governing Body, make such grants and allotments, enter into such contracts, award such other financial assistance, make such payments in lump sum or installments, and in advance or by way of reimbursement, and in the case of financial assistance otherwise authorized under the Act with necessary adjustments on account of overpayments and underpayments, and designate such positions as are necessary or appropriate to carry out the effective functioning of the Authority;
(d) prepare and submit to the Governing Body a proposal regarding, the regulations and such other standards, policies, procedures, programs, and initiatives as are necessary or appropriate for management and operations of the Authority, and after receiving and reviewing of an approved proposal shall establish and administer such standards, policies, procedures and programs as may be approved;
(e) prepare and submit to the Governing body an annual report on actions taken to achieve the goal of the authority under the Act, including an assessment of the progress made toward achieving those goals and the actions to be taken in the coming year toward achieving those goal; and
(f) prepare and submit to the Governing Body an annual report, and such interim reports as may be necessary, describing the major actions with respect to the Officers of the Authority, and with respect to implemented standards, policies, procedures, programs, and initiatives.”.
8. Substitution of Section 11 of Act XII of 2019.–In the Act, for Section 11, the following shall be substituted:
“11. Registration and licensing of facilities.–(1) The Authority may, on such fee, register or license such number of facilities in such manner as may be prescribed to ensure provision of clean drinking water.
(2) A facility registered or licensed under sub-section (1) shall comply with such standards of clean drinking water as may be prescribed.”.
9. Amendment of Section 17 of Act XII of 2019.–In the Act, in Section 17, for sub-sections (1) and (2), the following shall be substituted:
“(1) There shall be established a Fund to be known as the Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority Fund which shall be administered and controlled by the Authority.
(2) The Fund shall consist of:
(a) budgetary releases from the Government;
(b) grants made by the Federal Government, the Government or any other authority or agency, including international agencies and donors;
(c) all such sums of money as may be determined from time to time by the Government;
(d) all such sums of money as may be received by the Authority in the exercise, discharge and performance of its powers, functions and duties, including levies, cess, taxes, penalties etc.;
(e) money received through sale of clean drinking water;
(f) donations, if received from Pakistanis, including expatriate Pakistanis;
(g) fee and charges collected and profits earned by the Authority; and
(h) income from any other source.
10. Insertion of sections 18A to 18G in Act XII of 2019.–In the Act, after Section 18, the following new sections 18A to 18G shall be inserted:
“18-A. Appointment of Inspectors.–(1) The Authority may appoint or designate as many persons as Inspectors as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the Act in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) An Inspector shall have such qualifications and experience as may be prescribed but a person who has any financial interest in any matter regulated under the Act shall not be appointed or designated as an Inspector.
(3) The Authority may, with the approval of the Government, place the control and administration of an Inspectors with a local government to such extent as it may deem appropriate.
18-B. Penalties.–(1) A person in charge of a registered or licensed facility, who contravenes any provision of the Act, the rules, the regulations or any order made under the Act, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to rupees two hundred thousand or with both.
(2) If a facility which contravenes any of the provisions of the Act is a company, every director, manager, secretary or other officer or agent of such company shall be deemed to be guilty of such contravention.
18-C. Tribunal.–(1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute, for the whole or any part of the Province, a Tribunal consisting of not less than one technical and one judicial member in such manner and to perform such functions as may be prescribed.
(2) An offence punishable under the Act shall be exclusively triable by a Tribunal constituted under the Act.
(3) A person who is sentenced by the Tribunal, may, within thirty days of the sentence, prefer an appeal to the Lahore High Court.
18-D. Procedure.–(1) An offence under the Act shall be cognizable and bailable.
(2) The procedure for trial of offences under the Act shall generally be the same as is laid down in the Code for trials on the basis of a police report.
(3) Nothing in this section shall preclude the Tribunal from following the procedure laid down in the Code for summary trials.
18-E. Bar of jurisdiction.–No order made in exercise of any power conferred by or under the Act shall be called in question in any Court except in the manner provided for under the Act.
18F. Burden of proof.–Where any person is prosecuted for contravening any order made under the Act or for contravening the Act, the burden of proof that he acted in accordance with the Act shall be on that person unless such a burden is inconvenient for the person to discharge.
18G. Act to have overriding effect.–The provisions of the Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything contrary contained in any other law for the time being in force.”.
11. Substitution of Section 19 of Act XII of 2019.–In the Act, for Section 19, the following shall be substituted:
“19. Annual report.–(1) The Authority shall submit an annual report of its activities to the Government at the end of each financial year.
(2) The Government shall lay the annual report of the Authority in the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab within ninety days of its receipt from the authority.”.
12. Substitution of Section 20 of Act XII of 2019.–In the Act, for Section 20, the following shall be substituted:
“20. Power to make rules.–(1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purpose of the Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, such rules may provide for:
(a) the manner of keeping of accounts;
(b) qualification and procedure to be followed for appointment or recruitment of advisers, consultants, experts, technical staff, inspectors and analysts;
(c) terms and conditions of employment or service of employees;
(d) date on which and the form in which the annual budget statement of the Authority shall be submitted to the Government each year;
(e) procedure for appropriation and re-appropriation of moneys at the disposal of the Authority;
(f) form and manner in which the accounts of receipts and expenditure of the moneys shall be kept;
(g) such other matters relating to the administration of the Authority as the Government may think fit; and
(h) procedure to be followed in the conduct of business by committees constituted under the Act.”.
13. Substitution of Section 21 of Act XII of 2019.–In the Act, for Section 21, the following shall be substituted:
“21. Power to frame regulations.–Subject to the Act and the rules, the Authority may, by notification in the official Gazette, frame regulations as may be necessary to ensure prescribed standards and quality in the provision of clean drinking water and sustainability of its provision to the public”.
14. Repeal.–The Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 (VIII of 2019) is hereby repealed.
