Punjab Cabinet approves law reforms

LAHORE: The 17th Punjab Cabinet meeting with Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in the chair on Wednesday decided to enhance collaboration between the provincial and federal governments for the Ehsas programme.

The chief minister termed the Ehsas programme a flagship initiative of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to elevate the downtrodden segments of society, saying that the Punjab government would extend full support to it for its success in the province.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Sania Nishtar briefed the meeting on the Ehsas programme.

The cabinet meeting took various other decisions and gave approval to change the name of the Cabinet Sub-Committee for Flood to the Cabinet Sub-Committee for Disaster Management. Provincial Minister for Disaster Management Mian Khalid Mehmood would be the convener of the sub-committee. The meeting decided to shut down Lahore Water and Sanitation Company for being an inactive public sector entity. The CM sought a report to determine the future of other public sector companies and directed the authorities concerned to submit a final report as soon as possible.

The meeting gave conditional approval to fix and release grant-in-aid for Sheikh Zayed Medical Complex, Lahore, for 2019-20. Approval to the reports of Auditor General of Pakistan with regard to public sector enterprises of Punjab government for 2018-19 and public sector companies of Punjab government volume III of the financial year 2017-18 was also given. Approval to the appointment of vice-chancellor of Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Bahawalpur, was given while the same committee would also submit recommendations for the appointment of VC of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore.

Meanwhile, the meeting approved the first phase of implementation of Punjab Municipal Services Programme at a cost of around Rs 27 billion.

The strategy for releasing funds for 194 urban and 3,316 rural local government institutions was approved so that necessary facilities could be provided to people at their doorstep.

District-level committees would be constituted to implement this programme and the first phase would be completed by June 2020.

The CM said implementation of the decision of spending the toll-tax money on repair and maintenance of roads of the same area would be ensured. He ordered the officers to prepare estimate of the damages caused in some rural areas due to recent floods and rivers erosion.

The meeting gave approval to Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act, 2019. After the approval, the succession certificates would be issued by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) where special succession facilitation unit will be established.

The meeting approved introduction of law reforms at the provincial level besides approving reconstitution of the board of directors of the Punjab Social Protection Authority. Permission was granted for an agreement under unilateral trust fund programme for treatment of animal diseases and foot-and-mouth control programme in different areas of the province. The cabinet paid rich tributes to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on his death anniversary and said great leaders like him born in centuries.