KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet on Tuesday approved the ‘Sindh Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill, 2018’, directing the chief minister’s adviser on law to go through its clauses and table in the assembly for approval, a private TV channel reported. The purpose of the bill, presented by the Women Development Department, is to make provision for the protection of women against harassment at their respective workplaces and address their issues through a legal framework. Women Development Department Secretary Baqaullah Unar apprised the participants about the salient features of the bill. The meeting chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah approved a poverty reduction package worth Rs 72.5 billion under which interventions would be made in education, health and water and sanitation sectors and the development of village roads. The planning and development department, with the assistance of EU, has prepared the poverty reduction strategy under which rural and urban poverty would be reduced by making necessary interventions. The villages would be given roads, water supply and drainage schemes, health facilities and vocational training. The chief minister said the programme will cover whole of the province. The cabinet was told that with the assistance of the German Development Bank, four state-of-the-art regional blood centers have been constructed at Sukkur, Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad and Karachi. Health Minister Dr Azra Afzal Pechuho said since the health department has no prior experience of handling such sophisticated blood centers, those may be contracted out to the private sector organizations under the PPP mode. The cabinet, after receiving a presentation by the health department, approved to contract out RBC Jamshoro to Indus Hospital, RBC Sukkur to Sukkur Blood and Drug Donating Society, RBC Shaheed Benazirabad to Fatmid Foundation and RBC Karachi to Ziauddin Hospital. The Sindh chief minister took serious notice of usage of government number plates on private vehicles and ordered crackdown against the culprits. He said he has seen some people using fake government number plates on their private vehicles, unregistered vehicles and vehicles taken from Nazarat. The Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (SPPRA) proposed some 30 amendments in their rules. The chief minister constituted a committee under Law Advisor Murtaza Wahab to review the amendments and submit a report in the next cabinet meeting. Published in Daily Times, October 17th 2018.