KARACHI: The Sindh cabinet has approved the allotment of 5,801 acres of land to 10 private firms and the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) on a 30-year lease to install renewable power plants and national grid station, which would fetch Rs9.13 billion for the provincial exchequer.

It also allowed the local government department to set up special courts for the Sindh Building Control Authority under the Sindh Building Control Ordinance 1979 to hear cases related to illegal constructions.

The cabinet also formed a three-member committee to review a Board of Revenue (BoR) proposal regarding the valuation table of urban properties of Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur.

The cabinet meeting, which was presided over by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the New Sindh Secretariat on Tuesday, also approved an amendment in the Sindh Higher Education Commission Employees (Recruitment) Rules 2014 under which all posts, including the post of secretary/executive director, was to be made open to civil servants as well as people from academic background.

Plan to set up special courts to deal with illegal construction cases also accepted

After the meeting, Information Minister Saeed Ghani and LG Minister Syed Nasir Husain Shah briefed the media about the decisions, including the cabinet approval of another tranche of Rs2bn to inject in the Sindh Bank to boost its financial strength to meet its capital adequacy ratio.

Land allotment to energy firms

Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh informed the cabinet that 10 renewable power companies — wind and solar — and the NTDC had applied for allotment of land, measuring 5,801 acres, for the installation of power projects in Thatta, Dadu and Jamshoro.

The deputy commissioners concerned had suggested the annual lease amount at the rate of Rs3,000, Rs5,000 and Rs8,000 per acre per annum for different categories of land.

Senior Member of the BoR Kazi Shahid Parvez told the cabinet that the land could be allotted as per the guidance of the Supreme Court.

The cabinet approved the allotment of land and directed the authorities to make necessary arrangements.

Sindh Bank facing capital shortfall Finance Secretary Hassan Naqvi told the cabinet that the Sindh Bank faced a substantial shortfall in capital and the capital adequacy ratio (CAR).

The cabinet, which had earlier decided to inject Rs14.7bn in the bank and had injected Rs9.7bn, approved another tranche of Rs2bn and merged the Sindh Leasing Company into the bank which has cash of Rs3bn in its accounts.

Sindh Bank President Imran Samad told the cabinet that the bank’s account had improved from Rs14.5bn to Rs18bn. According to the State Bank’s requirement, the CAR should be at least 11.90 per cent and now the Sindh Bank’s CAR had reached to 16.65pc, he added.

The cabinet also approved a proposal under which all departments of the Sindh government, subordinate organisations and institutions would open their accounts, including salary accounts in the Sindh Bank. All grants to the public or private institutions would be given on the condition that they would maintain an account in Sindh Bank.

The universities and boards department presented an amendment in the Sindh Higher Education Commission Employees (Recruitment) Rules 2014 under which all posts, including the post of secretary/executive director, was to be made open to civil servants as well as people from academic background.

The cabinet approved the amendment in rules but simultaneously directed the secretary to work out detailed salary packages, pay scales and other benefits of the employees to be posted in the SHEC.

The cabinet also noted that the public sector universities, under the control of the provincial government, were raising a hue and cry for shortage of funds but they were making appointments continuously.

It decided that the universities would be directed to stop recruitment till their financial strength was improved. However, necessary recruitments could be made.

Special courts for SBCA

The cabinet was informed that the SBCA was engaged in a continuous drive against illegal constructions. The FIRs registered with the SBCA police station were disposed of by judicial magistrates.

It was told that special SBCA courts may be established to deal with the prosecution of such cases.

The cabinet directed the LG department to start setting up such courts where necessary.

The cabinet approved the draft bill for establishing the Sir Cowasjee Jahangir Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences by converting the 150-year-old mental hospital at deh Gidoo, Hyderabad, for approval of the assembly.

The BoR presented two proposals regarding variation in the valuation table of urban properties in Sindh. In the first instance, the valuation of Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur may be brought at par with the FBR valuation table. A comprehensive survey of all cities may be conducted to rationally determine the number of categories with clear demarcation of the area falling in each category in the cities (metropolitan/municipal corporations and committee).

In the first phase, the survey may be conducted within the municipal area through deputy commissioners, the cabinet decided.

The cabinet constituted a three-minister committee comprising Makhdoom Mehboob, Nasir Shah and Imtiaz Shaikh to review the proposal and submit their report in the next cabinet meeting.

The cabinet discussed and approved the rules of the Sindhi Language Authority. The cabinet directed the culture department to prepare packages and salary structure of the employees and include them in the rules.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2019