Constitutional changes approved

LAHORE:The Cabinet Committee on Legislative Business was held at the Civil Secretariat here on Thursday under the chairmanship of Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat. It approved several proposed constitutional amendments and laws.

Senior member board of Revenue, Additional IG Home, Secretary Law and other officers concerned were present. The committee approved several constitutional amendments and draft laws.

The proposals approved included an agreement to expand the ongoing project to alleviate poverty in South Punjab and to sign an MoU between the Literacy Department and Alite Pakistan on a "Teach a Child" project. Other approved proposals included relaxations in state land policies for Naya Pakistan Housing project and Punjab Housing & Town Planning Agency Affordable Housing Rules 2019.

The committee agreed with the draft MoU for exchange of information between the Punjab Excise & Taxation Department and the Federal Board of Revenue and the draft Punjab Control of Narcotics Act 2020 for effective drug control.

Proposal forwarded by the Local Government Department for delimitation of local boundaries of Town Committee Kunganpur and Municipal Committee Dinga was given go ahead.

The Cabinet Committee okayed relocation of six government guest / rest houses in Kotli Satyan, Murree and Chakwal and a proposal for improvement of tourist services presented by the Punjab Tourism Department for amendments in prevailing laws also got a nod.

UVAS: A seven-member Indonesian delegation led by Defence Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy-Islamabad Kol Dody Muhtar Taufik visited the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) here on Thursday.

UVAS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad along with his team comprising epidemiologists, virologists, microbiologists and immunologists apprised the delegation of the proactive role of UVAS scientists in providing support to the government for handling Covid-19. The Indonesian delegation appreciated the efforts of UVAS and expressed his commitment to work on similar lines for the control of Covid-19 in Indonesia. The delegation was comprised of Kol Dody Muhtar Taufik (Defence Attache of the Indonesian Embassy-Islamabad, Head of Delegate, Ahmad Firman Sejati, Sulaiman, Major Jaka Putra, Muladi Mughni, Adhie Yusetiadi and Nugroho.

underpass: A big landmark has been achieved by Lahore Development Authority as concrete structure of Firdous Market Underpass has been completed on Thursday resulting in an overall progress of 70 percent on this project. LDA officials said that excavation work from the barrel will start next week followed by the construction of roads adjacent to the underpass. Director General Lahore Development Authority Ahmad Aziz Tarar visited the project site and inspected the work been carried out there. He directed for ensuring quality of civil work besides utilising all possible resources for completing this challenging task in time. He urged the contractors as well as the engineers for pulling up their socks for achieving this target. Chief Engineer, LDA, Habib ul Haq Randhawa said that construction of all the 880 piles and 350 meters long retaining walls had already been completed. Wasa infrastructure comprising of 18 inches diameter sewerage line had also been laid.

Open court: Continuing with the government’s initiative to rebuild trust in public institutions, the second E-Khuli Kachehri was held at Regional Tax Office-II, Lahore. The business community across the city was engaged for unearthing hidden issues, seeking constructive suggestions and resolving long-standing problems. Leaders of Anjuman e Tajran from Jallo Mor, Dharampura, Ravi Road, Shahdara, Azam Cloth Market, Johar Town, Ichhra etc. actively participated in the session. The session started with the Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, RTO-II, Lahore viz, Ahmad Shuja Khan’s explaining the concept and purpose behind E-Khuli Kachehris.

reference: Punjab University Officers Welfare Association on Thursday organised a condolence reference to pay tribute to former Additional Controller of Examinations/Additional Registrar Ahmed Ali Chattha, who was martyred a few days ago.