LAHORE: The provincial cabinet on Wednesday approved the increase in the punishment for making, selling and flying kites and keeping and manufacturing illegal arms, besides the house loan and subsidised tractor and paediatric heart surgery schemes.

“The cabinet gave approval to fixing the punishment of three to five years, imposing a fine of Rs500,000 to Rs700,000 for [possession of] illegal arms and manufacturing and setting penalties for making and selling kites under the Kite Flying Ordinance 2001. Under the Kite Flying Ordinance, kite flying will be punishable with an imprisonment of two to five years and a fine of Rs2 million to 5 million,” says a handout on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz presided over the cabinet meeting that also approved three mega projects — Apni Chhat Apna Ghar, Green Tractor and Children’s Heart Surgery programmes.

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The Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) policy for the public and private sector institutions and establishment of the first Punjab Life Insurance Company of the province was also approved in the meeting.

The cabinet for the first time approved the grant of housing loan on the ownership of a plot. A borrower of Rs1.5m will have to pay Rs14,000 monthly installments in nine years. The loan scheme has been converted into a revolving fund and no additional charges will be taken from the public.

The cabinet approved giving 9,500 tractors to farmers under the Green Tractor Programme in Punjab, along with announcing a subsidy of Rs1m on each tractor to those possessing up to 50 acres of land. This scheme will be launched from September 20, 2024 and balloting process be held on October 20.

The Children’s Heart Surgery Programme was approved in the meeting with a direction to conduct 12,000 pending heart surgeries of children as soon as possible, and inviting international surgeons for paediatric heart surgeries.

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Application for recruitment of assistant comptroller in Chief Minister’s Office and regularisation of contract employees of the Public Health Engineering Department were also approved.

In the meeting, the establishment of a search committee for the appointment of the vice chancellor of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and the extension to the contract of 583 project employees of the Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education for one year was approved by the cabinet.

It also approved amendments to the Punjab Vagrancy Ordinance 1958 and Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960, besides the appointment of technical member and vice chairperson of the Punjab Agriculture Food and Drug Authority.

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 vice chancellors of Mir Chakar Khan Rind University of Technology, Dera Ghazi Khan and Punjab University of Technology Rasul, Mandi Bahauddin and Board of Directors of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade were also approved by the cabinet.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2024