Punjab Cabinet, which met here Wednesday with Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in the chair, accorded approval to the first phase of implementation on the Punjab Municipal Services Programme worth around Rs 27 billion. In the meeting, strategy of releasing funds for 194 urban and 3,316 rural local government institutions was also approved so that necessary facilities could be provided to the people at their doorsteps. It was decided that district-level committees would be constituted to implement this programme and the first phase would be completed by June 2020.
The Cabinet meeting decided to enhance collaboration between the Punjab and federal governments for Ehsas Programme. Special assistant to PM Dr Sania Nishtar gave a briefing to the provincial cabinet about Ehsas Programme. The chief minister termed the programme a flagship initiative of the PTI government to elevate the downtrodden segments of the society adding that Punjab government will extend full support.
The 17th Punjab cabinet meeting decided to shutdown Lahore Water and Sanitation Company for being a non-active public sector company. The chief minister also sought a report determining the future of other public sector companies and directed Dr Salman Shah to submit a final report at the earliest.
The meeting gave conditional approval to fix and release grant-in-aid for Sheikh Zayed Medical Complex Lahore for 2019-20. Approval of reports of AG Pakistan with regard to public sector enterprises of Punjab government for 2018-19 and public sector companies of Punjab government volume 3 of the financial year 2017-18 was also given. Approval of the appointment of VC Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Bahawalpur was given while the same committee would also submit recommendations for the appointment of VC of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore.
The Punjab Cabinet gave approval to Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act, 2019. After this approval, the succession certificates would be issued by NADRA where special succession facilitation unit will be established. The meeting approved to introduce law reforms at the provincial level besides approving the reconstitution of the board of directors of Punjab Social Protection Authority.
Permission was granted for an agreement under unilateral trust fund programme for the treatment of animal diseases and foot-and-mouth control programme in different areas of the province.
The meeting appreciated the performance of the cabinet committee on law and order, CS, IG Police and line departments for making foolproof arrangements during Ashura-e-Muharram.
The chief minister said that implementation on the decision of spending the toll-tax money on the repair and maintenance of roads of the same area would be ensured and added that this would make available the required funds. He directed to estimate the damages caused in some rural areas due to recent floods and rivers erosion.
The cabinet paid rich tributes to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on his death anniversary and said that great leaders like him are born in centuries.
The cabinet strongly condemned the lockdown and eight weeks long continuous curfew in Indian Occupied Kashmir and expressed complete solidarity with the Kashmiri people.