Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday approved a move to appoint a bureaucrat as the head of the elected metropolitan corporation apart from other moves to allocate funds and revenue generation funds.
This was decided during a meeting of the provincial caretaker cabinet on Saturday.
According to the move, the Lahore deputy commissioner would take over as the administrator of the Lahore Metropolitan Corporation.
During the meeting, approval was also granted to delegate powers to union councils under the "Ab Gaon Chamkein Gy" programme.
Renting lawn of Punjab House in Karachi
The cabinet on Saturday approved a move to put the lawn at the Punjab House in Karachi up for rent for hosting events and creating a revenue stream.
It was decided that the lawn of Punjab House could be rented out at a rate of Rs300,000 per night. It was further decided to explore agreements with any large hotel chain to rent the lawn.
Further funding
The provincial cabinet approved a move to grant funds worth Rs5 billion for improving and upgrading treatment facilities at large hospitals in Punjab.
The cabinet meeting decided to provide quality health and rehabilitation facilities for patients suffering from kidney, psychological and drug addiction.
The cabinet approved fixing the quality of the MSDS mechanism for treating and rehabilitating patients admitted to dialysis centres, psychological wards, and drug rehabilitation units.
Naqvi further directed to improve the financial assistance package for heirs of government officials who pass away while performing their duties. He said that revised financial assistance packages should be submitted for approval in the next cabinet meeting.
Administrative affairs
The provincial cabinet approved the Punjab Agriculture Food and Drug Authority (PAFDA) director general induction mechanism and other vacancies.
Approval was granted to the performance and audit reports of the Punjab government and district governments for 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Approval was also accorded to reports of the Council of Islamic Ideology.
Provincial Ministers, Advisers, Chief Secretary, IG Police, Advocate General Punjab and concerned officials attended the meeting.
After ten years, cotton cultivated on 5m acres
Separately, in a message on World Cotton Day, Naqvi said that cotton was a gift of nature which has been a part of human civilisation for centuries.
Terming cotton an integral part of Pakistan's export mix and the source of revenue for millions, Naqvi said that many countries improved production manifold after taking seeds from Pakistan, but the country continues to lag in seed development.
We were self-sufficient in cotton, but today, we have to import it to fulfil our needs.
He stressed that universities need to focus on cotton research.
Despite the challenges, Naqvi appreciated how the country had managed to cultivate cotton on approximately 5 million acres in Punjab after a gap of 10 years.
Naqvi, taking credit, said that timely decisions of the Punjab government to grant incentives to farmers helped cultivate an additional $3 billion worth of cotton. He hoped that this move would help lower the national import bill.
He stressed the need for cotton farmers to get training on modern farming trends and requirements.
We will have to ensure the provision of the latest technology and the best pesticides.
CM Mohsin Naqvi stressed that there is a dire need to make cotton clusters in Pakistan so that value addition can be obtained along with excess income. The cotton field can prove to be an economic game changer for the province and cultivators.