• Decides to give protected heritage status to Karoonjhar Hills
• Free registration of birth okayed to make process accessible to underprivileged communities: Sharjeel

KARACHI: Provincial Cabinet on Saturday approved the implementation of the Sindh Defined Contributory Pension Scheme (SDCPS) 2024 from 1st July 2024 under which civil servants would be entitled to receive the amount contributed by them along with the contributions made by the provincial government to their account in place of pension and gratuity.

Under the SDCPS, the government and employees will contribute at a provisional rate of 12 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

The cabinet that met with Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali in the chair approved the insertion of a new clause in the Sindh Civil Servant Act 1973 for the SDCPS 2024.

According to the proposed amendment, an individual who is appointed or regularised as a civil servant on or after the commencement of the Sindh Civil Servant (Amendment) Act, 2024, will be considered a civil servant, except for pension and gratuity.

Instead, they will participate in a Defined Contribution Pension Scheme as prescribed. In place of pension and gratuity, the civil servant will be entitled to receive the amount contributed by them, along with the contributions made by the Government to their account in the mentioned Fund, in the prescribed manner.

This scheme will commence from 1st July 2024, and both the government and employees will contribute at a provisional rate of 12 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

In the unfortunate event of the civil servant’s death, their family will receive the amount from the Contribution Pension Fund, as prescribed in the Defined Contribution Pension Rules to be framed by the government.

Karoojhar Hills

The Sindh cabinet also decided to give Karoonjhar Hills the status of a protected heritage.

The decision was taken in the light of a recent order of the Sindh High Court. The cabinet directed the culture department to notify an area of 21,000 acres of Karoonjhar Hills as protected heritage in the official gazette.

Free birth registration

The cabinet also decided to provide free birth registration services.

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon stated that the new birth registration initiative aimed to streamline the registration process and make it more accessible to underprivileged communities.

In a statement, he said that the abolition of the enrolment fee will greatly benefit disadvantaged and low-income groups by enabling them to register their children without financial barriers, while also helping the government collect accurate demographic data.

He said that the decision will have far-reaching benefits, as it will ensure the legal identity of every person in Sindh.

Free registration will also help eliminate issues such as child labour, human trafficking, and early marriages by establishing documented age for legal protection, he added.

Ban on bottom trawling

The livestock and fisheries department told the cabinet that fisheries played a vital role in contributing to food security, bringing economic opportunities and providing a significant share of livelihood.

The department said that however, overfishing, destructive fishing techniques and the use of prohibited nets had contributed to the deterioration of economically important fish stocks.

It was pointed out that bottom trawling was the root cause of destruction of biodiversity and marine resources, and consequently, the marine resources of the country were facing massive pressure and needed sustainable enforcement measures in the preservation of fish stocks.

Bottom trawling is an indiscriminate fishing method as dragging the large, weighted nets sweeps away everything from the seafloor and in the process a large quantity of by-catch, non-targeted species are trapped. It also destroys the natural seafloor habitats and affects all bottom-dwelling biomass including plants and animals. Bottom trawling has a detrimental effect on sea life and marine ecosystems.

The cabinet approved the amendment to the Fisheries Rules 1983 under which no person would be allowed to fish with an encircling net or improvised purse seine net locally called “wire net” or ring net and bottom trawl net locally called “trawls” or “Gujja”, Gujjo or Gujji in the creek areas of the province and up to twelve nautical miles from the shore along the coast and territorial waters of the province.

Anti-narcotics legal framework

The cabinet also approved seven-year imprisonment for Cultivation Prohibition and 10 years and above imprisonment and Rs1 million fine for manufacturing/operating premises and three-year imprisonment and Rs1 million fine for possession for Prohibition & Possession of Narcotics Drugs. The proposal was referred to the Assembly for enactment.

Benazir Hari card

The cabinet approved the issuance of the Benazir Hari card to the farmers having a maximum of 25 acres of land. Various kinds of subsidies, facilities, relief, and distribution of Bardana for wheat procurement and other government interventions aimed at farmers/ tenants and landholders of agricultural land may be provided through Benazir Hari Card holders.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2024