Cabinet approves amendments to Rules of Business

LAHORE:The 47th provincial cabinet meeting, held under the chair of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar at his office Tuesday, approved amendments to Punjab Government Rules of Business, 2011.

Accordingly, the acts and powers of South Punjab's additional chief secretary, secretaries and departments have been defined. The South Punjab secretariat will comprise three divisions, 11 districts and 17 government departments with complete administrative authority to ACS (South Punjab) and secretaries. The ACS (South Punjab) is given the authority to transfer grade-17 officers, including assistant commissioners.

He is empowered to approve the budget and provide funds to the offices of commissioners, DCs and ACs along with the authority to write ACRs of departments' secretaries. The south Punjab departments' secretaries are given all those powers of promotions, transfers and recruitments which are available to their counterparts in the province of Punjab. The heads of autonomous bodies, boards, authorities and companies will be answerable to respective secretaries. The outsourcing of government rest/guest houses was approved as well. TDCP would be allowed to give government rest/guesthouses on a 20-year lease with the option of a 10-year extension. The lease will be given through an open auction to ensure transparency.

The meeting allowed IDAP for the construction and rehabilitation of 32 KP hospitals to promote interprovincial harmony along with the approval of an affordable housing model for peri-urban areas.

According to the decision, the use of a Rs3 billion revolving fund will be permitted for infrastructural development. The cabinet approved the establishment of the Punjab Commission for Illegal Housing Societies with retired Justice Azmat Saeed as its head.

Matters about the release of fitness certificates for transport vehicles were approved along with the decision to amend Punjab Pension Fund and Punjab General Provident Investment Fund's Act. After the amendments, Punjab Pension Fund and Punjab General Provident Investment Fund will be empowered to invest in 100 percent government schemes and national saving schemes.

The cabinet decided to constitute a cabinet standing committee for universal health insurance along with amendments to The Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Act, 2003. After this, the BOM matters of hospitals will be streamlined. Steps relating to the promotion of austerity were approved for 2021-22 by the austerity committee and it was decided to hand over Lahore Museum to the Archaeology Department. The cabinet approved PHA operationalisation in Sialkot, endorsement of the charter of Lahore Institute of Science and Technology and Grand Asian University Sialkot along with the approval of posting of the chairperson of Punjab Commission on Status of Women according to rules.

The annual calendar for the fourth parliamentary year of the Punjab Assembly for 2021-22 and the Provincial Ombudsman's annual report for 2020 was also approved. It was decided not to nominate a below grade-20 officer for BoG of the National School of Public Policy. Formal approval of Amjad Ali Awan for the post of CEO Punjab PPP Authority was allowed.

Meanwhile, addressing a presser here Tuesday, the CM said powers of ACS (South Punjab), secretaries and departments had been clarified while the south Punjab secretariat would be comprised of Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Khanewal, Layyah, Lodhran, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Vehari and the number of government departments would be 17.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had vowed to carve out a separate South Punjab province and this was also part of the PTI manifesto. He said a sum of Rs190 billion was reserved for south Punjab. To a question, the CM said the Punjab government has traced heinous crime cases. I issued directions to police while taking notice of such cases and some police officials are also removed from their posts, he stated. He said the helicopter was used for government duties as he visited different areas to solve public problems. The approval of rules of business for the south Punjab secretariat is a historic step to solve public problems at the grassroots, he stressed.