More land for two varsities in Swat okayed

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet on Friday approved the acquisition of additional land for the establishment of engineering and medical universities in Swat and the Shuhada Package for the heirs of fallen officials of the Special Police Force.

The approval was given and several other decisions were taken at a meeting of the cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, said an official handout. The cabinet members, acting chief secretary, and other senior officials attended the meeting.

The chief minister directed all administrative secretaries to ensure framing of rules in their departments under the acts passed by the KP Assembly. The cabinet discussed agenda items and approved amendments to Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Rules. Now technical staff will be recruited for efficient operationalisation of the skills laboratory.

The PGMI is working under the administrative control of the Health Department and playing an effective role for the education and training of the health staff. The cabinet approved the signing of an agreement with China and Uzbekistan.

Under the agreement three cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two cities of China and one city of Uzbekistan would be declared twin cities. These include Xichang (China) and Haripur, Kunming, (China) and Abbottabad and Termez (Uzbekistan) and Peshawar.

The cabinet approved Shuhada Package for the heirs of 98 Special Police Force. It granted approval to KP Schools Bags (limitation and weight) Rules 2021. The KP Assembly has already passed the bill.

Under the rules, various punishments/fines have been proposed for the violators of public and private schools. The cabinet approved an amendment to the KP Protected Forest Management Rules 2005, which would ensure payment of royalty to the owners. The cabinet also approved an additional grant of 525 million for evacuation of dumped timber at Arandu in Chitral to Chakdarra Depot.

In order to ensure self-sufficiency in the power sector and generate maximum electricity through hydel potential of KP, the cabinet approved a 10 years draft Business Model and strategy to ensure smooth financing of ongoing and new hydel projects. The cabinet on the recommendations of the Peshawar High Court approved the appointment of Barrister Asfandyar Khan as member of the legal Environment Protection Tribunal on a contractual basis. It approved the acquisition of additional land for the establishment of Engineering University and Khyber Medical University in Swat. The cabinet also approved Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Private Partnership Amendment Act 2021 paving way for the online registration of firms. It okayed the cost-sharing agreement between UNDP and KP government under strengthening the role of the Law Project to ensure successful implementation of the project.

The main objective of the project is to establish an International Standard Forensic Laboratory costing a total of Rs800 million, for which the KP government has already provided a suitable piece of land at Regi Lalma Township in Peshawar. The cabinet also approved Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Coalmines Rules 2021 under the KP Mines Safety Inspection and Regulation Act 2019. The cabinet also approved necessary amendments to KP Mines and Mineral Act 2017. It okayed the amendments to the West Pakistan land revenue rules 1968 with the aim to ensure transparency in revenue records, etc. The cabinet approved an extension in waiver in deed fee and mutation fee up to June 30, 2022 in view of the financial crunches due to the corona pandemic.