Provincial minister for industries, commerce, and investment (ICI) Sheikh Alauddin has directed the concerned departments to remove bottlenecks in order to ensure that early compensation announced by the chief minister of Punjab to the families affected by the building collapsed in Sunder Industrial Estates on 4th November 2015.
He was chairing the 1st meeting of the committee to examine and evaluate the actions in light the government’s Instructions issued subsequent to the incident.
ICI Secretary Dr Mujtaba Piracha briefed the meeting on the matter. Labour Secretary Suhail Shehzad informed the meeting that the total compensation for the 43 affectees amounted to Rs 120 million, which was to be paid by the owner of the estate at the rate of Rs 2 million for each deceased, Rs 1million for each disabled, and Rs 0.5 million for each injured.
He said that the legal heir of the building’s owner had filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court after paying Rs 20million, saying that he had already paid the amount as per the law. He has also intimated that the Punjab Industrial Estates Development & Management Company (PIEDMC) had paid Rs 7.2 million from its own resources. The chair of the meeting asked who would pay the remaining amount and was informed by the additional secretary (admin) of the ICI department that the matter would be decided by the labour and human resource department.
The labour and human resource secretary also said that necessary amendments in the Workmen Compensation Act, 1923, including the enhancement of compensations, had already been framed and forwarded to the provincial cabinet for consideration. The ICI Secretary said that in order to overcome the issues, a draft law of the Industrial Regulatory Authority Punjab (IRAP) was to be finalised shortly. He also intimated that the provincial cabinet had approved amendments to the Boilers and Pressure Vessel Ordinance, 2002, and the same would be presented to the provincial assembly for approval.
The Secretary further said that a summary of the draft law titled ‘Punjab Occupational Safety and Health Law, 2016’ would be submitted shortly to the chief minister for granting permission before forwarding it to the cabinet wing.