–Dismisses power plant on CJ Link Canal
KARACHI: Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Law, Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development Barrister Murtaza Wahab said on Wednesday that the Sindh Cabinet had approved the fixation of 0.5 per cent job quota for the transgender community in recruitment in Sindh police.
Wahab said that the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah told the Cabinet members that he wanted to bring the members of the transgender community to the mainstream. The adviser said that the Chief Minister while felicitating the transgender community on behalf of the members of Sindh Cabinet, said that he would like to make them a useful and effective member of the society. He also asked them to keep their documents ready as from now onwards they were eligible for seeking government jobs.
Wahab said this while briefing the media after the conclusion of the cabinet meeting. The Sindh Chief Minister presided over the meeting while all the ministers, advisers and relevant officers, including Chief Secretary and Inspector General of Police, were present during the meeting.
He said that the Sindh Chief Minister had asked the people of the transgender community to pay special attention to their education. Wahab said that Inspector General of Police Sindh Dr Syed Kaleem Imam while briefing Cabinet members told that comparatively, Sindh police’s performance had improved. One of the pieces of evidence of which was the improvement of Karachi’s position in the world crime index comparison.
He said that according to IGP Sindh, Karachi was at number 6th in the world crime index in 2014, and now in 2019, it was at 70th position. The adviser said that according to Sindh Police Chief, a clear decline in the incidents of street crimes and kidnapping for ransom was observed in the port city. He said that the Inspector General of Sindh Police told the cabinet members that few of the biggest contributing factors to the rise in street crimes in the metropolis were the constant rise in unemployment, illegal immigrants and drug addicts. The IGP said that the general public mostly avoided registering cases in public stations. According to the IGP Sindh, the traffic police collected Rs 766 million from the violators for violating various traffic rules.
The Sindh Chief Minister directed IGP to further control street crimes in Karachi, Wahab said. The adviser said that the Chief Minister told IGP that when there was absolutely zero interference in the matters of transfers and postings of police officers by the Sindh government, then there should be best law and order situation in the province.
Wahab told that the Chief Minister also directed IGP to take strict action against the officers who lodged false FIRs. The Chief Minister Sindh said that he would give awards to all those Station House Officers and Deputy Superintendent of Police who performed well in maintaining law and order in their jurisdictions, while he said that strict disciplinary action would be taken against SHOs and DSPs who failed to control crimes in their respective areas.
The provincial cabinet also approved the purchase of 100,000 tonnes of wheat from Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation Limited, Wahab told. He said that this wheat would be purchased at Rs 844.50 per 100kg bag. The adviser said that the chief minister told the cabinet members that he wanted to bring down the price of flour in the market so that poor people could get bread at low price.
Wahab said that Chief Minister Sindh had also constituted a three-member committee comprising Food Minister, Secretary Food and Secretary Finance, which would address the financial issues of the food department. The provincial cabinet also fixed wheat issue price at Rs 3450 per 100kg, the adviser said.
Wahab while briefing the media told that Sindh cabinet also gave approval to the rules of Sindh Injured Persons Compulsory Medical Treatment (Amal Umer) Act 2019. The adviser said that speaking on this occasion, the Chief Minister Sindh said that they would never allow the medico-legal issues to become the reason for any injured person’s death. The Chief Minister said that Sindh government would soon set up a fund which would be utilized for the treatment of injured persons.
Wahab told that the provincial cabinet also approved the rules of Sindh Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Act 2019. According to the Adviser, the purpose of establishing this institute was to provide free therapy to those who become disabled in the accidents, while the institute would also introduce degree courses as well. Cabinet members were told that this was the first institution in civilian setup where artificial limbs were also being made.
Wahab told reporters that the Chief Minister Sindh Syed also issued instructions on setting up of satellite centers of Sindh Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in other cities of the province as well.
Wahab told reporters that the provincial cabinet also through a resolution requested Prime Minister to summon a meeting of Council of Common Interest. The Cabinet was told that the Council of Common Interest had not been meeting for the last 11 months. The adviser said that since the Council of Common Interest had not met for the last 11 months, no progress had been made towards resolving the water, power and other serious problems being faced by Sindh province. The cabinet was told that the Constitution of the Council of Common Interest demanded that a meeting of the Council be convened every 90 days.
Wahab said that during discussion on Draft Alternate and Renewable Energy Policy 2019, the provincial cabinet was informed that the Energy and Power Division had formulated an ARE policy 2019 under which few targets had been set. The adviser said that since 2006, AEDB, NTDC and CPPA-G could add up 2500 MW in ARE grid and now till 2025 a target of 6000 MW had been set.
Wahab said that the provincial cabinet was informed that most of Sindh’s Alternative and Renewable Energy projects were halted by the federal government. On this occasion, the chief minister told the cabinet that the Sindh government was also setting up a provincial grid company, the adviser said.
The chief minister said that the Sindh government wanted that the tariff of garbage energy is cleared as well. Wahab said that the chief minister informed the cabinet that he was initiating setting up power plants on the garbage. Chief Minister Sindh believed that the amount of garbage generated in Karachi was so huge that it could be utilized for fulfilling the power needs of the people of Karachi to a certain extent.
Wahab said that while discussing the pension issue of Sindh High Court Judges, the Sindh cabinet decided that pension issues would be resolved in accordance with existing rules and regulations. The adviser said that the cabinet was informed that in accordance with the law, the Judge who had served for at least five years would be entitled to a pension.