LAHORE, Oct 17: The Punjab government has decided to raise the exemption limit of property tax for widows, disabled, and orphans to Rs48,000 from the current limit of Rs27,000 to provide financial relief to 2,800 people in the province.

Punjab will incur a loss of Rs15 million in its income as a result of the decision taken at a meeting of the provincial cabinet held here on Wednesday. The cabinet meeting was chaired by Governor Muhammad Safdar.

Briefing the cabinet on the increase in the exemption limit, the provincial secretary excise and taxation said the number of people benefiting from the exemption would go up to more than 56,000 from 50,270 as a result of the raise allowed in the exemption limit. He said the total loss in revenue receipts would hike to Rs42 million because of the exemption.

The cabinet expressed its satisfaction over the export of 15,000 tons of wheat to Kenya and instructed the food department to prepare itself for the export of another 50,000 tons in the immediate future. The cabinet was informed that the TCP had been instructed to export one million tons of wheat this year. The food department was asked to ensure the production of quality wheat for export in future.

The cabinet considered and discussed in detail the request of two private educational institutions —- Syed Ali Hajveri Institute of Technology and Management Sciences and Imperial College of Business Studies —- for the grant of degree awarding status to them. Since both of the institutions in question failed to satisfy on the conditions laid out by the government to get the powers to award their own degrees, their cases were referred back to the accreditation committee for review of their applications. The committee would submit its report in two months for a decision by the cabinet.

The governor said the government defined comprehensive conditions for allowing the private institutions to issue their own degrees. He said the government would not compromise on the procedures and conditions laid out for the grant of powers to issue degrees of higher education, especially science and technology, by the private institutions at any cost. He said the private institutions must have adequate, highly educated staff, laboratory, workshops, library, and proper infrastructure before seeking the degree granting status.