–Firdous says cabinet taken into confidence regarding proposed Punjab local govt act
–Says ‘Enforcement of Women Property Rights Bill’ will ensure their due share in inheritance
ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Tuesday said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) recommendation to increase prices of petroleum product has been forwarded to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in a bid to provide relief to the masses.
OGRA had recommended increasing the prices of petroleum products by up to Rs14.
Addressing a news conference along with Minister of Water Resources Faisal Vawda, Firdous said the prime minister directed to send this recommendation to ECC to review it in order to pass the minimum burden to the people.
The cabinet also decided to hold audit of the Rs1,300 billion circular debt in order to determine who is responsible for this increase, and the facts will be presented in the next cabinet meeting, she said.
Firdous said the previous Punjab government left a debt of Rs100bn, besides the bounced cheques of Rs80bn. However, due to good governance and austerity measures taken by the incumbent government, a saving of Rs100bn has been made at the federal level.
The prime minister directed to ensure that austerity steps are implemented at both federal and provincial levels. The special assistant to PM said the cabinet was also taken into confidence on various initiatives taken by Task Force on Institutional Reforms in various institutions.
The cabinet decided to observe the office timings from 10am to 4pm during Ramzan to provide maximum relief to people observing fast without compromising their productivity.
Firdous said a special committee has been assigned the responsibility to prepare a Ramzan package to provide maximum relief to the masses. She said the committee will also make sure that no load-shedding is done during the holy month.
LOCAL GOVT, WOMEN EMPOWERMENT BILLS:
Firdous said the cabinet was taken into confidence regarding the proposed local government system in Punjab that will be modelled on the system already implemented in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She said the new local government system will devolve the powers at the grass root level and empower local people.
She said the cabinet discussed in detail five legislative bills that will help people resolve their problems as part of people friendly agenda of PTI government.
She said Enforcement of Women Property Rights Bill will ensure women get their due share in inheritance. Amendments in the Code of Civil Procedure will help decide the civil cases swiftly. Similarly, the succession certificates will now be issued by NADRA and heirs can get these within a fortnight, saving their precious time and hassle.
Firdous Ashiq Awan said Whistle Blower Protection Bill will also be introduced to provide protection to whistleblowers regarding corruption in various public institutions.
She said an Anti-Corporal Punishment Bill will also be tabled soon in the parliament to discourage the physical punishment and abuse at schools.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister said a bill named Zainab Alert will also be introduced to stop child sexual abuse.
