PESHAWAR (Khyber Mail): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur, approved essential expenditures for the month of May and directed all departments to finalize their budget proposals for the next financial year. The meeting was held at Pakhtunkhwa House Islamabad on Monday, with ministers, advisors, special assistants, and relevant government officers in attendance.
The cabinet approved a monthly allowance of Rs. 200,000 for ministers who do not belong to Peshawar and do not have an official residence. The rent and utility bills of the house will be covered by this allowance. The cabinet also approved amendments in the “NWFP Ministers Salaries, Allowances and Privileges Act 1975” to facilitate residential accommodation of the ministers due to shortage of government residences and non-availability of rented homes as per rates fixed in the Act.
The cabinet approved Rs. 503 million for the deputy commissioners of the merged districts for the next three years, keeping in view the backwardness and security situation of these districts. The expenditure will go through a process of audit and nothing will be kept secret.
The cabinet approved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Charitable Commission Employees Terms and Conditions of Service Rules 2024. The Charitable Commission was established in 2019 under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Charities Act 2019. The prime objective of the Commissioner is to register, administer and regulate charities, fund raising, appeal and collection of charitable funds for charities through an effective monitoring and accountability of promoters, collectors and recipients.
The cabinet disagreed with the recommendations put forward in the meeting minutes of the Standing Committee of the Senate of Pakistan regarding the Swat Motorway Phase II project. The cabinet decided to go ahead with the already approved plan, asserting that the current design adheres to international standards and sound engineering principles.
As proposed by the Labor Department, the cabinet approved the establishment of a Labor Court at District Kohat and the extension of the jurisdictions of Labor Courts to the Merged Districts. The cabinet also approved the establishment of camp offices for the Labor courts in District Chitral, Buner, and Bannu.
The cabinet approved the allotment of 02 kanals state land, situated inside Tehsil Building at Jamrud District Khyber, to the Federal Government for construction of office-cum-residential accommodation on payment of market value.
The cabinet constituted a ministerial committee to look into the grievances of the employees regularized under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Employees (Regularization of Services) Act 2018. The committee will review cases and present recommendations before the cabinet for consideration in compliance with the directions of the High Court.
The cabinet approved Rs. 89.280 million for purchasing 18 Suzuki Swift cars for 18 newly created posts of senior civil judges in the family courts of the Province.
The cabinet approved an allowance of Rs. 300,000 per month for the incumbent DG Aviation. The Chief Minister directed to prepare a case for converting one of the government-owned helicopters (Ml-17) into an air ambulance in the larger interest of the people of the Province.
Relaxing the ban on the purchase of appliances for the Administration Department, the provincial cabinet allowed the provision of funds amounting to Rs. 18.808 million (Phase-I) for the purchase of handheld scanners and cell phone detectors. The appliances will be utilized to curb the increasing trend of using modern electronic gadgets for cheating in exams held under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission.
The provincial cabinet also allowed the handing over of a 1 kanal plot of DG Agriculture Research Center to Pakhtunkhwa Highways Authority for construction of PKHA complex. The plot is annexed to the under-construction PKHA Complex on G.T Road at Tarnab while in lieu thereof the Agriculture Department will be given another adjacent plot in the same number khasra.