The meeting of the provincial cabinet held under Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar on Saturday gave approval to the restoration of the Fix Daily Allowance of the Punjab Police frozen since 2005 with the average of 2013. The Punjab Highway Patrolling Police and Traffic Wardens will also get allowance with same percentage. The approval was also given to the Executive Allowance for the civil officers appointed on the cadre post.
The civil officers will get the Executive Allowance equal to 1.5 times of the basic salary. The special allowance equal to 1.5 times of the basic salary was also approved for the grade 1 to 16 employees of the Punjab Cabinet Secretariat on the instructions of the chief minister.
The meeting also approved the allotment of the government land for landless farmers of Cholistan. The land will be given in a transparent manner and a scrutiny committee has been approved for this purpose. The meeting also approved the land in the Cholistan area of Sadiqabad tehsil for PPL for oil exploration. The cabinet meeting also approved the financial aid package for the farmers whose crops have been damaged in rainstorms and hailstorms. Fifty five villages of 27 districts have been declared calamity hit and they have been exempted from Malia and Aabiyana (water tax).
The chief minister has also directed to estimate the damage to crops caused by floods in some parts of Jhelum. The provincial cabinet also approved the first tourism policy. The chief minister said special package will be prepared for the interest of tourists. The promotion of tourism will enhance soft image of Pakistan. He said special benefits will be given to private investors who are interested in investing in the tourism.
The meeting has also decided to introduce the grading system in the matric, FSc and FA exams in phases. The implementation of the first phase of the grading system has been approved. The chief minister said the grading system is the vital measure towards the uniform education system and this system will end cramming. We will introduce a system that will enable our students to compete at the international level. The chief minister said a committee has been constituted to review the implementation of the second and third phases of the grading system. The cabinet meeting also approved amendment in the Government Land Disposal Policy. The provincial cabinet has approved the leasing of government land on open auction. The decision has been taken to give ownership rights of the land leased to landless farmers and the farmers who will cultivate 80 per cent of the land will get ownership rights. The meeting also approved the appointment of the members of the Board of Directors of the Parks and Horticulture Authority, Sialkot.
The cabinet meeting also approved the audit report prepared by the Auditor General of Pakistan for the Punjab government accounts for the financial years of 2016-17 and 2018-19. The audit report will be presented in the Punjab Assembly after the approval of the cabinet. The recommendations of the committee formed by the chief minister were also approved. The minutes of the 13th and 14th meetings of the cabinet were affirmed. The decisions of the 10th and 11th meetings of the Cabinet Standing Committee for Finance and Development were also endorsed. The cabinet meeting was attended by the provincial ministers, advisers, special advisers, chief secretary and senior officials.