LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar said on Friday that Rs5.5 billion prison package would introduce reforms in jails and also revamp the 127 years old jail system.
While giving details of the prison package, the CM added that geysers were being installed in jails and the inmates would be allowed to keep mattresses, blankets and pillows. Similarly, air coolers, exhaust fans, lights and additional fans would also be fitted to provide a conducive atmosphere to the prisoners.
Alongside, recreational and educational facilities, as well as day-care centres, would be provided to women detainees and their children of up to six years of age. Meanwhile, protection of rights of juvenile offenders would be ensured and no one will be allowed to exploit them, he continued.
The CM announced that medical camps would be set up every month in jails for prisoners' medical check-up. The government has changed the lunch and dinner timings, he appended. It is sanguine that different ceremonies were held in jails in connection with Ashra Shan-e-Rehmatul-Lil-Alameen (PBUH) and prizes were distributed among the position holders.
The CM pointed out that the service structure of jails staff was being improved and added that prison security allowance, equal to one additional basic pay, will be given to jail staff along with salaries and allowances.
An amount of Rs2.77 billion would be spent on this package, he told and added that permission has been granted to upgrade the posts of jail warden, head warden and chief warden with an amount of Rs92.4 million. An amount of Rs106.4 million will be spent to provide 21 operational vehicles to prisons department, he added.
The Punjab government has upgraded the jail martyrs package and the children of martyrs of Punjab Prison Service will be given government employment, he informed. Meanwhile, scholarships, dowry funds and medical allowance would also be given to children of jail employees in partnership with PPF, he said.
Moreover, the CM has termed opposition's agitation as an attempt of self-projection adding that opposition parties have lost their reliability in the masses.
In a statement, the CM said the government has full understanding of the problems of the common man and every step was being taken to overcome them. The district price control committees have been activated to stabilize the prices and sustained efforts will be continued to control prices, he maintained.
There is no room for agitational politics but the opposition was trying to deceive the masses in the garb of price-hike, he stated. In fact, the power-hungry opposition's approach is contrary to the national interest as it has no regard for the masses, concluded the CM.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
Comments
Comments are closed.