PESHAWAR, March 12: The provincial cabinet on Wednesday decided to establish an endowment fund with initial funding of Rs500 million for helping poor patients at government hospitals.

At a cabinet meeting held here with Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani in the chair a committee was constituted to devise strategy for transparent disbursement of the endowment fund. The chief minister will be patron-in-chief of the committee.

The chief minister directed that a simple procedure should be formulated so that deserving patients could benefit from the fund timely. Needy patients suffering from heart diseases, cancer, kidney disorder, hepatitis C and B, and brain disease would be given money from the fund.

The cabinet approved a Tameer-i-Sarhad Programme under which every MPA would get Rs5 million for carrying out social development projects in their constituencies through the local government department.

After reviewing the project, the local government department would present it to the chief minister for approval.

The cabinet approved a revised contract policy under which any person who applied for a contract post would be considered a regular government employee upon his selection. It constituted a sub-committee to determine the causes of failure to get the government lands vacated from illegal occupants.

The cabinet reviewed the pros and cons of the establishment of an independent prosecution institution. A sub-committee formed by the cabinet would submit its report in the light of the recommendations of the Nifaz-i-Shariat Council, and home and law departments. Food Minister Fazle Rabbani will head the committee.

The cabinet approved amendments to the Hydel Power Development Fund Ordinance 2001. It agreed to appoint chief minister as chairman of the Elementary Education Board and chairman of the NWFP Hydel Development Fund.

The meeting agreed to exempt girl candidates from pasting their photographs on admission forms.

The cabinet approved upgradation of the post of deputy secretary to additional secretary in the irrigation and power department. It also approved the establishment of district development committees.—APP