CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz promises 500,000 homes

LAHORE:

The Punjab cabinet has approved three major welfare projects -- Apni Chhat... Apna Ghar, Chief Minister's Green Tractor Scheme and Children's Heart Surgery Programme.

In a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the cabinet also enhanced the penalties for illegal weapons and kite flying.

The cabinet for the first time in Pakistan approved the grant of housing loan on the ownership of a plot and a CNIC copy. A borrower of Rs1.5 million has to pay Rs14,000 in monthly installments for nine years.

On the direction of CM Maryam Nawaz, the loaning scheme has been converted into a revolving fund and no additional charges will be received.

The cabinet approved a uniform front design of houses under the Apni Chhat… Aapna Ghar project.

The chief minister directed the authorities to simplify the scrutiny process of social, economic and income sources for obtaining the housing loan and said the Punjab government wants to create ease for the people.

"We would build 500,000 houses in five years," she said.

The CM also directed the ministers to pay the first installment of the housing loan by visiting the beneficiaries.

The cabinet also approved the Green Tractor Programme to provide 9,500 tractors in Punjab with a subsidy of Rs1 million each to owners of up to 50 acres of land. The scheme will be launched on Friday and the balloting will be conducted on October 20.

The chief minister said the government wants to provide 30,000 tractors to the farmers.

As the Chief Minister's Children's Heart Surgery Programme was approved, she issued directives to conduct 12,000 pending heart surgeries of children as soon as possible along with inviting international surgeons for paediatric heart surgeries.

CM Maryam Nawaz also called for steps on a war footing for mental health of the children.

The cabinet approved an amendment to the Punjab Arms Ordinance 1965 to declare the offence non-bailable. It approved a proposal to fix the punishment of three to five years imprisonment and fine of Rs500,00 to Rs700,000 for illegal arms manufacturing and to set penalties for making and selling kites.

Under the Kite Flying Ordinance, the offence will be punishable with imprisonment for two to five years and a fine of Rs2 million to Rs5 million.

Proposals for the recruitment of an assistant comptroller in the Chief Minister's Office and regularisation of contract employees of the public health engineering department were approved.

The formation of a search committee for the appointment of the vice chancellor of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and the extension of the contract of 583 project employees of literacy and non-formal basic education for a year was also approved.

The cabinet approved inclusion of new development schemes in the Annual Development Programme, reconstitution of the governing body of the Punjab Workers Welfare Fund and payment of salaries to contract employees of Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College.

Recommendations for appointment of search committees for appointment of VCs of Mir Chakar Khan Rind University of Technology Dera Ghazi Khan and Punjab University of Technology Mandi Bahauddin and Board of Directors of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade were approved.

Meanwhile, the CM ordered a crackdown on overcharging transporters during another meeting.

She was informed that after the reduction in transport fares by the federal government, the Punjab government had issued a new schedule of reduction in private transport fares for 37 cities. She was informed that 30 vehicles had been barred from plying on the roads and a transport service had been sealed.