LAHORE:
The provincial cabinet has approved the handover of the Lahore Knowledge Park to Punjab Central Business District Development Authority to build the country’s first IT city.
“Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have already shown their interest in the IT city,” Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said while presiding over the cabinet meeting.
She ordered the completion of both towers of the IT city in a year.
“The world’s major educational institutions will be invited to build campuses in the Knowledge City, she said and added, “There will be a Film City too.”
The cabinet also approved a project for the supply of 20,000 petrol and electric bikes by the Bank of Punjab.
The chief minister said, “Electric bikes are essential to reduce environmental pollution but are currently not that much viable due to the risk of battery theft and low mileage. Therefore, the down payment will be reduced to Rs25,000 and the monthly installment will be less than Rs5,000.”
The distribution of the bikes will begin in May.
“A separate scheme will be introduced to give bikes to students who have achieved significant success in examinations,” the chief minister said.
As per court directions, the cabinet approved the trial of the PTI founder and former minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Adiala Jail.
The cabinet also gave in-principle approval for the extension of the posting on deputation of the Punjab Transport Company CEO.
It approved the provincial representation in the Council of Common Interests Secretariat. An approval for the transfer of the Punjab government’s Grade 19 vacancy in the secretariat was also granted.
During a discussion on the Punjab Air Ambulance Project, the chief minister said, “All facilities are available for the rich and influential people, but nothing to save the life of a poor man. We want to provide every facility of timely treatment to our people.”
She said it was unfortunate that Sargodha did not have adequate facilities for the treatment and transfer of heart attack patients.
“Sitting in offices, it seems that the air ambulance is not needed, but it is needed because Rescue 1122 received 1,100 calls for air ambulance in emergencies,” she asserted.
“In the Lahore PIC Emergency Department, heart attack patients arrive from distant areas in eight hours. Therefore, the air ambulance project is very much needed, but it will be rolled out on a trial basis in the first phase,” she said.
The chief minister said,” We should feel pain for the poor. How sad it was that sanitary workers lost their lives in Faisalabad due to lack of safety kits.”
The cabinet gave approval in principle to reduce the number of law officers in the province to 66 after following strict performance-based criteria.
The chief minister said, “I have not recommended anyone. Corruption, political affiliation and incompetence will not be tolerated in the government service.”
The cabinet also ratified the approval of the annual budget and supplementary budget grant for 2023-24.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2024.
