KP announces Rs0.2m monthly house allowance for ministers, advisors

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Tuesday granted a house allowance of Rs200,000 per month to provincial ministers, advisors, and special assistants who have not been allotted with government residence.

The decision was taken during KP Cabinet’s 11th meeting held on Tuesday with Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in chair. The meeting was attended by Ministers, Advisors, Special Assistants, Senior Member Board of Revenue, Additional Chief Secretaries and Administrative Secretaries.

The cabinet approved amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ministers (Salaries, Allowances, and Privileges) Act of 1975, along with revisions to the terms and conditions for the Advisors and Special Assistants.

As part of these changes, a house allowance of Rs200,000 per month has been granted to those provincial ministers, advisors, and special assistants who have not been allotted with government residence.

The provincial cabinet approved a grant-in-aid of Rs326.40 million for the Drug Free Peshawar Programme Phase-III and Rs23.10 million for the Beggars Free Peshawar Programme, aiming to eliminate drug addiction and beggary from the streets of Peshawar. Around 2000 drug addicts will be rehabilitated in Phase-III of the Drug Free Peshawar Programme.

During the deliberations, the Chief Minister directed the social welfare department to offer free services to families across the province who wish to rehabilitate a drug-addicted family member but cannot afford the treatment.

Chairing the cabinet meeting, Ali Amin Gandapur directed cabinet members to devise a plan for weekly visits to districts to inspect public service delivery and monitor the progress of developmental projects.

He emphasised that special attention should be given to activities in the Merged Districts. Additionally, he instructed the departments particularly education and health to prioritize strengthening human resource deployment in Merged Districts, ensuring that the placement of personnel strictly adheres to a domicile-centric policy.

The provincial cabinet approved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Livestock and Poultry Production Act 2024 thus allowing its placement before the provincial assembly.

With the promulgation of the act the Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Department will be able to register and regulate the livestock and poultry production activities in the province.

In the meeting, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Animal Welfare Act, 2024 was also approved for placement before the provincial assembly. This legislation aimed at prevention of infliction of unnecessary pain to animals and to set standards regarding humane handling, treatment and transportation of animals in the province.

The provincial cabinet has approved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Livestock Breeding Services Act, 2024 allowing its placement before the provincial assembly.

This legislation is aimed at regulation of livestock breeding services, improve the genetic potential of breeds and protect indigenous breeds of livestock and to provide for improvement, control, marketing and quality assurance of livestock in the province.

As a stance of the province the provincial cabinet has approved a set of forward-looking recommendations to be included in the position paper for the upcoming National Finance Commission (NFC) award.

Among these recommendations is the demand for the establishment of a 10-year grant, termed the ‘Pakistan Building Grant,’ sourced from the Federal Divisible Pool.

This grant aims to address significant financial needs and development deficits that have accumulated since the 7th NFC award.

Additionally, the cabinet has called for an interim adjustment to bring the 7th NFC Award into compliance with the Constitution of Pakistan, recommending that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s share in the new award be recalculated to include the population and area of the newly merged areas within the province.

The provincial cabinet has accorded approval for the cost enhancement from rupees 87.700 million to rupees 152.00 million for the ADP scheme of repair and rehabilitation of Mahabat Khan Mosque Peshawar.

The project is aimed at preserving and restoration of the historical Masjid to its original grandeur. Besides, conservation of the structure, restoration of fountain pond, water supply, CCTV System, sound system, illumination work, renovation of ablution area and provision of motorized sun shed are part of the project.

The cabinet has approved the creation of 35 number of posts of different nomenclatures in Administration Department for the newly declared Khyber Pakhtunkhwa house in D.I Khan. This was aimed at strengthening of facilities for the smooth devolution of the financial and administrative powers to divisional level.

The provincial cabinet has approved the release of 1.377 billion rupees to the Food Department to settle the remaining wheat procurement liabilities for growers, suppliers, and their authorized representatives at 22 wheat procurement centers.

This brings the total financial obligations for the procurement of 208,993.873 MT of wheat to 20.377 billion rupees. The Finance Department had already disbursed 19 billion rupees to the Food Department, as per the decisions made in previous cabinet meetings.