Staff Reporter
The 47th provincial cabinet meeting, held under the chair of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office on Tuesday, approved amendments to Punjab Government Rules of Business, 2011.
Accordingly, the acts and powers of south Punjab’s additional chief secretary, secretaries and departments have been defined.
The south Punjab secretariat will comprise of three divisions, 11 districts and 17 government departments with complete administrative authority to ACS (South Punjab) and secretaries.
The ACS (South Punjab) is given the authority to transfer grade-17 officers including assistant commissioners.
He is empowered to approve the budget and provide funds to the offices of commissioners, DCs and ACs along with the authority to write ACRs of south Punjab departments’ secretaries.
The south Punjab departments’ secretaries are given all those powers of promotions, transfers and recruitments which are available to their counterparts in the province of Punjab.
The heads of autonomous bodies, boards, authorities and companies will be answerable to respective secretaries.
The outsourcing of government rest/guest houses was approved as well. TDCP would be allowed to give government rest/guest houses on a 20-year lease with the option of a 10-years extension. The lease will be given through an open auction to ensure transparency.
The meeting allowed IDAP for the construction and rehabilitation of 32 KPK hospitals to promote interprovincial harmony along with the approval of an affordable housing model for peri-urban areas.
According to the decision, the use of a three billion rupees revolving fund will be permitted for infrastructural development.
The cabinet approved the establishment of the Punjab Commission for Illegal Housing Societies with retired Justice Azmat Saeed as its head.
Matters about the release of fitness certificates for transport vehicles were approved along with the decision to amend Punjab Pension Fund and Punjab General Provident Investment Fund’s Act.
After the amendments, Punjab Pension Fund and Punjab General Provident Investment Fund will be empowered to invest in 100 % government schemes and national saving schemes.
The cabinet decided to constitute a cabinet standing committee for universal health insurance along with amendments in The Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Act, 2003. After this, the BOM matters of hospitals will be streamlined.
Steps relating to the promotion of austerity were approved for 2021-22 by the austerity committee and it was decided to hand over Lahore Museum to the Archaeology Department.
