Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht said on Tuesday that a separate quota would be allotted for the people of South Punjab in government jobs. Chairing the third meeting of the Ministerial Committee constituted by the Chief Minister to determine the powers and improve the performance of South Punjab Civil Secretariat here, he mentioned the quota would be determined on the basis of the proportion of the population in the province. Necessary amendments were being made in the laws relating to government jobs for allocating quotas, he added. Hashim Jawan said that a separate development programme for South Punjab would be formulated in the budget for the next financial year. The Punjab government would ensure separate publication of the Annual Development Programme of South Punjab. The minister directed the Law Department, Finance Department and Planning and Development Board to make amendments in the law relating to separate quotas for South Punjab and preparation of separate annual development programmes for South Punjab. The provincial minister said the Punjab government was introducing South Punjab as a separate administrative zone for uniform development in the province. For the first time in history, the colour fencing of the budget reserved for South Punjab had been ensured with the support of the cabinet and the establishment of a separate secretariat was the continuation of it. The minister informed the meeting that all the departments related to education, health and agriculture were being represented in the South Punjab Secretariat. The Punjab government would provide full technical assistance to all the relocated departments in South Punjab to improve the stability and efficiency of the empowered secretariat. He said that establishment of a full secretariat in South Punjab was a phased process as several factors were at work in it. Until the completion of the secretariat, changes in the administrative structure were routine. At the initial stage, the central departments would provide services from the Lahore Secretariat, he added. The committee would decide which of the central departments would be transferred to the South Punjab Secretariat at which stage. The provincial minister informed the meeting that approval for separate quotas in government jobs would also be sought from the provincial cabinet. Other participants in the meeting included Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat, Agriculture Minister Hussain Jahanian Gardezi, Energy Minister Akhtar Malik, Transport Minister Jahanzeb Khan Khitchi, Livestock Minister Mohsin Leghari, Sardar Hasnain Dareshk and secretaries of relevant departments.