Daily Times

The provincial cabinet of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa approved amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012, allowing it to be presented before the Provincial Assembly.

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, presided over the meeting held at the Civil Secretariat Peshawar and attended by Ministers, Advisors, Special Assistants, the Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretaries, the Senior Member of the Board of Revenue, and relevant Administrative Secretaries, said an official handout here on Thursday.

Besides, some minor changes related to the administrative functions of the universities, the notable amendments included the designation of the Chief Minister as the Chancellor and the appointing authority for Vice Chancellors of these universities.

The amendments also set the Vice Chancellors’ tenure as four years, subject to a mid-tenure review by a Performance Evaluation Committee to be constituted by the Government. It has also been made mandatory that only women candidates will be appointed to the Vice Chancellor positions in the public sector women’s universities of the Province.

The cabinet approved the draft Agriculture Income Tax Act, 2024, which will be presented in the Provincial Assembly for enactment and, if approved, will come into force from January 2025.

It is worth mentioning that during discussions with the Federal Board of Revenue and the International Monetary Fund, the need to levy Agriculture Income Tax on companies (both small and others) involved in corporate agriculture was highlighted.

Additionally, the introduction of measures such as a “Super Tax” on high-earning individuals and companies, and penalties for mis-declaration and non-submission of Agriculture Income Tax returns, was deemed necessary. To provide legal cover for these measures, it was decided to draft a new Agriculture Income Tax Act, 2024, which will repeal KP Land and Agriculture Income Tax Ordinance 2000.

The cabinet also approved a framework agreement between Provincial Housing Authority Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation (PHAF) for construction of low-cost housing scheme at Surizai, District Peshawar comprising 8000 grey structure houses and 5000 apartments over a total area of 8500 kanal.

The Provincial Cabinet approved several key financial allocations and cost enhancements for various projects and programs. It approved an increase in the project cost from Rs. 243.531 million to Rs. 325.271 million for the “Construction & Repair & Maintenance Workshop for the WSSP Solid Waste Management Equipment and Machinery, Peshawar.” The cabinet also approved the cost enhancement for the “Reconstruction of Women & Children Liaqat Memorial Teaching Hospital, District Kohat.”

The cabinet sanctioned the provision of funds under the Sehat Card Plus Program, with an initial allocation of Rs. 500 million for the treatment of diseases currently not covered under the program in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Additionally, a Grant in Aid of Rs. 10 million was approved for the Rukhsana Mother & Child Trust Hospital (RMCTH) Peshawar.

The cabinet also approved regular annual funding as a grant in aid for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Blood Transfusion Authority and sanctioned an annual grant in aid of Rs. 10 million for the Fatimid Foundation for the fiscal year 2024/25.

It also approved Medical Financial Assistance of Rs. 03.00 million for one Mst. Kausar Samrin to cover her expenses for treatment of SLE LUPS Nephritis Kidneys. Furthermore, seed money amounting to Rs. 200 million was approved for the Biodiversity & Wildlife Fund.

The cabinet approved additional fund increasing loan amount from $300 million to $ 378 million under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project (KP-RAP). It also approved Enhancement of cost for Thandyani Road Abbottabad and Mankial Road Swat under KITE project.

The cabinet approved Fixation of Operational Cost with Akhuwat for the interest free loan schemes of the province.

Cabinet approved formation of a committee for drafting the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Property Lease Rules, 2024. Finding of Reports of FP&MC regarding Monitoring of Ongoing Woodlots, Harvesting, Transportation and Marketing of Timber was presented before the cabinet.

The cabinet while approving the recommendations directed the relevant authorities to implement the findings in phase wise manner so that the respective owners of the private wood-lots do not suffer further.

While approving the electronic land rights information Card-e-Jaidaad, the cabinet allowed revenue authorities to replace the measurements of lands through feet and inches instead of traditional of Karams.

The cabinet approved name of members for constitution of “Conservation Heritage Board” under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Antiquities act, 2016. The Conservation Heritage Board shall advice the Directorate on all major interventions in the heritage built of the Province in light of the international best practices and shall also oversee that the execution of such intervention is undertaken according to the guidance provided by the Board.

The cabinet allowed the Establishment Department to settle through arbitration the issues in the supply of four bullet proofs vehicles. The issue was lingering on in differing courts since 2018.