KARACHI, Jan 20: The Sindh Cabinet which met here on Tuesday, with Sindh Chief Minister Sardar Ali Mohammad Mahar in the chair, agreed, in principle, to exempt the cottage industry in Orangi Town (Karachi) , Hala, Gambat, Mithi and Kashmore from property tax and decided to impose a penalty of six-month imprisonment on those evading excise duty and other taxes.

Briefing newsmen after the cabinet meeting, advisor to Sindh chief minister on information Salahuddin Haider said a bill in this regard will be tabled in the next session of assembly for an approval.

He further informed that some 750 employees of the Sindh Agriculture Supplies Organization will get the golden handshake on the pattern of the scheme implemented in the defunct SRTC.

The Sindh government on Tuesday closed the functions of the SASO and disposed of the services of all the employees of SASO from Jan 31. The meeting was informed that since SASO services are pensionable, benefits of golden handshake would be in addition to the normal termed benefits, ie pension benefits as per SASO pension rules.

According to the decision, employees having served 25 years or above would get commutation at the rate of 40 per cent, along with monthly pension out of the remaining 60 per cent commutation.

The employees who have served below 15 years, will get one month's gratuity for each complete year of service. Earlier, the IGP briefed the cabinet on the recovery of weapons and explosives, along with the arrest of a terrorist.

The IGP informed the meeting that the police recovered 80kgs of explosives, and had these been used in any operation by the terrorist, these could have caused large-scale destruction in Karachi.

Shamim alias Shami was arrested in Mehmoodabad area and some booklets were also recovered in which directives were given as to how to kill people in the name of Islam and how to escape police interrogation, he said.

The cabinet appreciated the overall police performance and the chief minister appealed to the people to keep a vigil on their surrounding and inform the authorities if they spot such elements.

The cabinet also set up a seven-member provincial fiscal coordination committee to function as monitoring committee for finance, excise and taxation and revenue departments.

The PFCC will comprise ministers for finance, excise and taxation, revenue and others. Earlier, the World Bank had called for setting up of a monitoring committee after the merger of finance, excise and taxation and revenue Ministries.

However, the Sindh government pursued the World Bank that this proposal was not plausible and would like to have the provincial fiscal coordination committee. This proposal of the Sindh government was accepted by the World Bank.

The cabinet was also informed that Rs7 billion have been disbursed for development schemes in the province out of Rs11 billion in first six months of the current fiscal year and requested the MPAs to submit their projects with the planning and development department.

During the last six months (July-December 2003), the provincial revenue department recovered Rs 6.2 billion receipts out of a target of Rs14 billion.

At the meeting, the chief minister directed payment of two months' salary to the employees of Thatta and Dadu Sugar Mills on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.-PPI/APP