PESHAWAR: KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Monday reviewed the status of the last 319 cabinet decisions, with officials claiming that most of them have been effectively carried out.

Out of 319 decisions made in the last 15 provincial cabinet meetings, 242 have been implemented completely and the rest are in the process of implementation, according to an official statement issued here.

It added that of those cabinet decisions, 76 were related to the finance department, 51 to the law department, and 26 to the local government department, 19 to the planning department, 34 to the home department, 27 to the education department, and 28 to the health department.

Some of the key cabinet decisions included the approval of important legal drafts, funds for development projects, and other public welfare initiatives, in addition to the approval of memorandums of understanding, agreements and important policies of the government.

Officials said 2,564 new vacancies had been approved in the cabinet meetings, while Rs8.5 billion had been released for the deserving households under the Ramazan Package.

Also, 1,356 new vacancies have been approved to strengthen police in the province and Rs600 million has been released to purchase armoured vehicles for the police. The officials said 698 new posts had been approved for traffic police, while Rs20 million had been released under the Shuhada Package for the heirs of police martyrs. They also said quota for children of martyrs in ASI recruitment had increased through amendments to the relevant law.

The officials said Rs1.10 billion had been released for the purchase of 327 kanals of land for the 88MW Ghabral Kalam hydropower Project, while the royalty share for oil and gas producing districts had been increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

According to them, 479 new posts have been created in the primary and secondary education sector.

In addition, grants-in-aid amounting to Rs470 million have been provided for three cadet colleges in merged districts, while grants-in-aid of over Rs17.5 crore has also been provided for eight model schools in merged districts.

The officials said Rs24 crore had been released for the “Ilm Tolo Da Para” programme in merged districts, whereas Rs1.5 billion had been released as grant-in-aid for public sector universities.

They added that Rs5 billion was released in March for the Sehat Card programme, followed by release of Rs3 billion on a monthly basis.

The officials also said Rs27 crore had been released for international standard training of in-service nurses in collaboration with the University of Chester, UK and, while Rs50 crore was approved for the existing endowment fund for promoting sports activities in the province. Also, Rs1.15 billion has been released for the repair of electricity transformers in all constituencies of the province, and Rs45 crore for ration support for internally displaced persons in North Waziristan district, and over Rs55 crore for emergency tents and other essential items for the Kukikhel tribe of Khyber tribal district.

Similarly, the cabinet has approved a debt management fund to improve financial discipline in the province, while regional development committees have been formed at divisional level to ensure timely completion of development projects and quality of work.

The officials said the royalty rates for minerals had been increased by amending the relevant act to enhance provincial revenue generation, whereas a minerals development and management company had been established for better utilization of natural resources.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2024