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LAHORE, Aug 05 (APP): Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday chaired the 28th meeting of the provincial cabinet, which deliberated and approved over 130 agenda items with a strong focus on public welfare, labor rights, education reforms, and institutional development.
The cabinet, in a landmark move for industrial workers, approved the allotment of 1,220 flats in Sundar, Kasur, and Taxila through balloting. Rejecting a proposal to charge workers for the flats, the CM directed immediate initiation of construction of 3,000 additional flats for laborers.
The cabinet also approved a significant increase in minimum wages, raising salaries to Rs. 40,000 for workers across skilled, semi-skilled, and 102 different job categories.
Praising the dedication of emergency responders, the CM announced a Rs. 50,000 cash reward for each Rescue 1122 official involved in flood relief operations, following recent torrential rains.
To uplift the prison system, the CM directed the establishment of industries within jails and provision of fair wages to prisoner laborers. She also ordered the introduction of third-party monitoring in jails to ensure transparency and accountability.
In the education sector, the cabinet approved the official conduct of Class 5 and 8 exams, introducing regular assessment at the primary and middle levels. A lifelong pension scheme for the widows of government employees was also sanctioned.
Taking a historic step towards ease of doing business, the CM approved the simplification of the NOC process for petrol pumps, reducing required documents from 16 to just 6, with applications now accepted online. She also emphasized swift approval to the Occupational Safety and Health Rules 2024, calling for strict implementation of safety standards for laborers, especially those working in sewers and construction. The Labor Department was instructed to form a dedicated enforcement force for worker protection.
The cabinet also approved the Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Rules 2024, reinforcing the province’s commitment to ending child labor. Further, it ratified a uniform policy for appointments of various administrative posts (treasurer, registrar, and controller of examinations) in both public and private universities.
The CM, highlighting governance reforms, stressed the centralized monitoring of audit reports across Punjab. The cabinet approved a market-based hiring policy for Vice Chancellors, with a requirement of securing at least 80 percent marks in the selection process.
The CM directed that an AI-based traffic management system be implemented across Punjab’s roads within the next 90 days. She also ordered the immediate rollout of the Excel Load Management System and approved the establishment of WASA in five divisions, with plans to expand it to 13 additional cities.
The cabinet, to support the healthcare sector, approved paid internships for nurses in government hospitals. Reviewing the progress of the Kisan Card, the CM expressed satisfaction over the program’s success, highlighting a 99 percent recovery rate in Phase 1. She said Rs 93 billion had been disbursed to 90,000 farmers, with Rs 47 billion utilized for agricultural inputs. She announced the establishment of new tractor manufacturing units under the CM’s High-Tech Mechanization Initiative.
The cabinet also approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the Punjab government and Deer Foundation International and Houbara International Foundation, along with a regulatory framework for the protection of local bird species. Additionally, Rs 2.6 billion was approved for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority to aid the rehabilitation of flood-affected communities.
Approvals were also granted for recruitment of constables in the Riot Management Police and for new positions in the Walled City Authority. The cabinet eased hiring restrictions in the Punjab Charities Commission and ordered quarterly reports on fake charity scrutiny. It further granted budget approval authority to PHATA’s governing body and instructed clarification of its monitoring procedures. A Management Information System (MIS) will be introduced in the Home Department, while extensions were approved for multiple contract-based staff in departments including Planning & Development, Literacy, SPU, and the Multan Center for Combating Violence Against Women.
The cabinet sanctioned new hiring in Punjab Financial Advisory Services, approved additional posts in the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department SPU, and allowed for recruitment in the Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department. It also approved appointments in the Provincial and District Quality Control Boards and permitted hospital recruitment on a locum basis. Several contract extensions were granted, including those for the Punjab Public Private Partnership Authority.
Further approvals included extension of NOC expiry dates for cement plants, reconstitution of the Sports Board Punjab, procurement of bulletproof vehicles for VIP security, amendments to the Punjab Drug Rules, and establishment of the Punjab Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency (PEECA) under the 2025 Act. Measures were also approved to lease government land to the telecom sector and to form the Sugarcane Research and Development Board under a new legislative framework. The Punjab Locum Recruitment Act 2025 was also approved, allowing contract hiring for both clinical and non-clinical posts.