LAHORE, April 23: Punjab’s caretaker cabinet on Tuesday allowed fresh property survey to assess the existing value of assets and collect tax from the owners accordingly, deciding to keep five-marla houses exempted.

The survey will be held from April 26 to June 30.

The cabinet meeting was presided over by interim Chief Minister Najam Sethi who asked for informing people about the survey before starting it. He said the survey should have been conducted after every five years but it had not been done in Punjab for the past 12 years.

He asked the authorities concerned to conduct the survey in a transparent manner and have its third-party audit done for authenticity.

The cabinet decided that a notice would be published in the newspapers about the survey to inform public about the exercise.

The CM said there was a need to further improve the tenancy laws. To expedite the Wasa arrears recovery, he ordered assessment of the possibility of outsourcing it. The recovery of Wasa tariff should be ensured, and a business plan be made for enhancing its working, he said.

The chief minister ordered measures for improving Wasa institutions’ efficiency. There was a need for immediate, mid-term and long-term steps for building public service capacity of Wasa, he said, adding funds had been provided to the agency for purchasing new generators and meeting other requirements. Water should be provided to people through tankers in case of shortage due to loadshedding or any other reason, he said.

A committee was established under minister Arif Ejaz for recommending how to build Wasa’s capacity and improve its recoveries.