The Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, headed by the Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat, proposed several steps for the improvement of social welfare and Baitul Mal departments.
In the meeting held at Civil Secretariat on Thursday, Secretary Social Welfare Zahid Salim Gondal briefed about his department, saying that after successful operation of five shelter homes in Lahore, more would be built at Sargodha, Rawalpindi, DG Khan and Bahawalpur this year while the rest of the divisions will be covered during the next financial year.
Provincial Minister Labour Ansar Majeed Khan, Minister for Sports Taimur Ahmad Khan, Chairperson Women Protection Authority Kaniz Fatima, Amin Bait-ul-Mohammed Azam, Additional Chief Secretary and other senior officers were also present. Raja Basharat said that establishing shelter homes for the destitute was a successful PTI project.
He directed that all shelters should ensure safeguards against the coronavirus and initiate free food points as many as possible to help epidemic torn people. He directed the Secretary Social Welfare to start the recruitment process immediately on vacant posts of the department.
The committee recommended to merge different institutes of the same type of Social Welfare Department by merging the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Crisis Centers into Women Protection Authority. The Child Protection Bureau and the Social Protection Authority were proposed to give under the administrative control of the Social Welfare Department. The committee also recommended the creation of trusts of various welfare institutes. It was stated that Darul Amans are set up in every district for the helpless women, while in seven districts there were 650 people were benefited there.
The Secretary said that Rs 3500 monthly stipend was being given to the helpless widows, including their children, living in six district-based centres. He said 620 children were assisted last year in orphanages in 12 cities and 131 disowned newborns. The briefing reported that the Industrial homes working in each district was provided skill trainings to more than 30,000 women over the years, as well as a number of other welfare organizations working to rehabilitate children with disabilities and drug addicts. The committee appreciated the performance of the department and ordered its effective publicity through media.
