Punjab Assembly was told on Friday that the provincial government was paying Rs 1,000 to each registered blind person in Punjab. The 11th session of the provincial legislature was held here with Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal in the chair. Two newly-elected legislators Inamullah Niazi and Ehsan Riaz took oath during the session. "The Parks and Horticulture Authority (Amendment) Bill 2014" was to be introduced in the house, but due to lack of quorum it could not be entertained.
The Bill, inter alia, ensures that cumulative wisdom of the Board of Directors of the Parks and Horticulture Authority is utilised in policy formulation. It proposed inclusion of the Divisional Commissioner in the Board of Directors, which will help the authority to benefit from the input and ownership of a government official who is directly concerned with the overall development of area.
Provincial Zakat Minister Malik Nadeem Kmran told the house that there were total of 1284 Local Zakat Committees in Lahore. He said 1107 of these were functional. The Minister stated that Department of Zakat gave around Rs 200 million for scholarships for education in Punjab during 2013-14. To another question, the minister said that Rs 90.4 million zakat was distributed in Sahiwal district during period 2012-13. He said that District Zakat Committee Lahore gave Rs 5.7 million for poor patients in Hospitals during 2013-14. He added that there were 1387 local Zakat committees in Faisalabad.