From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Provincial cabinet Sindh has fixed Rs.302 per 40kg of Sugarcane as the minimum price for crop 2022-2023 and approved reservation of seats for transgenders in the local councils.
The Cabinet also approved the purchase of additional 40 buses for the People Bus Service run in Karachi. Meeting of the provincial cabinet was held at the CM House while the Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in the chair.
All the provincial ministers, advisors, special assistants, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Chairman P&D Hassan Naqvi, PSCM Fayaz Jatoi, and other concerned officers attended the meeting.
Advisor to CM on Agriculture Manzoor Wassan told the cabinet that he has held a number of meetings with all the stakeholders, including growers and millers to develop a consensus for the fixation of new sugarcane prices. The stakeholders had their own points of view.
The cabinet approved the fixation of the minimum price of sugarcane at Rs302 per 40 kg and also fixed the quality premium rate at Rs0.50 (50 paisa) per 40 kg as approved by the federal government in 1989-99.
The provincial cabinet believing in the policy of equal rights for every segment of society has approved reserved seats for transgenders in the local councils.
At the request of the Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Shah, the provincial cabinet discussed the allocation of reserved seats for the local council for six categories. It include women, youth (at least one seat), labor or farmer one seat, non-Muslim members one seat, persons with disabilities one seat, and transgender persons one seat.
The provincial cabinet on the request of Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon approved an amount of Rs1.7 billion for the purchase of 40 more 12-meter hybrid buses for the already operational Peoples Bus Service in the city.
A proposal of launching a Peoples Bus Service for Tourist sites in the province also came under discussion. The cabinet directed Minister Culture Sardar Shah to submit a written proposal so that buses from Karachi to major Tourist spots such as Keejhar, Thar, Ranikot, and other areas could be launched.
The provincial cabinet after thorough consideration granted education emission to nine convicted prisoners. The remission was granted in favour of nine ‘lifer’ ATC convicted prisoners including Abdul Jabbar (16 months remission), Muhammad Ali (6 months), Syed Aamir Hussain (6 months), Khalid Abbas (6 months), Syed Shahzad Ali (6 months), Ali Raza (10) Months), Asif Ali (16 months), Syed Nayyar Raza (22 months) and Khalid Aziz (10 months). These convicted prisoners have passed Adeeb Sindhi/Urdu, matriculation, and intermediate examinations and qualified for educational remission.
The health department presented an agenda item with the request to hand over the administrative control of Reduction of Stunning and Malnutrition to Peoples’ Primary Health Initiative (PPHI), Sindh.
Minister Health Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho told the cabinet that PPHI has already initiated Nutrition Services in Dadu and Jamshoro while the health department was running the programme in 21 districts.
The cabinet approved the proposal and allowed the health department to hand over the programme to PPHI. In the current financial year, the Sindh government has allocated Rs2.9 billion for the Reduction of Stunning and Malnutrition Programme.
The cabinet approved the procurement of 300,000 tons of wheat from PASCO so that the wheat requirement of the province could be met till the harvest of the new crop in early March.
The chief minister directed the food department to make necessary arrangements for the procurement of wheat, crop 2022-23 from early February so that the procurement target could be achieved.
The provincial cabinet on the request of the Social Welfare Minister Sajid Jokhio approved the proposal to sign an agreement with ANF to run two Drug Rehabilitation Centers – Rehabilitation KMC Leprosy Hospital, Manghopir; and Sports and Youth Affairs, Malir Karachi.
The ANF is already providing free-of-cost services to the people of Karachi, Sukkur and Hyderabad with the support of the Sindh government.
Minister Labour Saeed Ghani told the meeting that the Baldia factory Fire incident occurred in November 2012. He added that the German Brand KiK Textilian contributed $1 million for relief for the family of deceased and injured workers and the compensation commission established by Sindh High Court under the Chairmanship of Rehmat Hussain Jaffery was assigned the work of disbursement of the funds.
The Sindh government through SESSI has been disbursing the amount of death and survival pension to the lawful survivors of the deceased workers of the factory.
The cabinet was told that the German firm KiK Textilian offered to provide a long-term compensation of $ 5.15 Million, including a margin of $0.25 million to ILO to be distributed among the victims by way of a lifetime pension scheme through SESSI on a monthly basis.
Saeed Ghani told the cabinet that the ILO, Geneva wanted to transfer the fund to an insurance company (EFU Assurance Ltd.) as its payment agent.
The cabinet approved the request and allowed the labour department to sign an MOU with ILO to transfer the funds to the insurance company so that pension disbursement could be ensured from there.
Sindh Cabinet approved the Provisional Support Agreement to be signed with a private partner (Ms ZKB, developer) of Dhabeji Industrial zone, a CPEC top Priority Project of Sindh government.
It is worth mentioning here that the Sindh government has allotted 1530 acres of land for the development of the Dhabeji Industrial Zone. The zone would create 100,000 direct and indirect jobs and would help boost exports through industrialization in Pakistan. The project is being executed by Sindh Economic Zones Management Company (SEZMC) under Public Private Partnership mode through a successful international bidding process.
Sindh cabinet under the new local council arrangement approved handing over of 15 katchi abadis of District Central. These katchiabadis would be part of the Towns. The cabinet also decided to activate its Sindh Petroleum Company by appointing Asim Murtaza as its CEO.
