(Web Desk Monitoring) — The Punjab cabinet approved stricter penalties for kite making, selling, flying, and the possession and manufacturing of illegal arms, alongside endorsing several key development initiatives, including housing loans, subsidized tractors, and a pediatric heart surgery program.

A press release detailed that those caught possessing or manufacturing illegal arms will face prison terms of three to five years, along with fines ranging from Rs500,000 to Rs700,000. Under the Kite Flying Ordinance 2001, kite flying now carries penalties of two to five years in prison and fines between Rs2 million and Rs5 million.

The cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, also approved three major projects: the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar housing scheme, the Green Tractor program, and the Children’s Heart Surgery initiative.

Key decisions included:

• Implementation of a new Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) policy for public and private institutions.
• Establishment of Punjab’s first provincial life insurance company.
• Housing loans of Rs1.5 million for plot owners, with borrowers required to pay Rs14,000 per month over nine years. This loan scheme is a revolving fund with no additional public charges.

As part of the Green Tractor program, 9,500 tractors will be distributed to farmers owning up to 50 acres of land, starting from September 20, 2024, with balloting on October 20. Each tractor will come with a Rs1 million subsidy.

The Children’s Heart Surgery program aims to perform 12,000 pending surgeries, with international pediatric surgeons invited to assist.

Other approved measures include:

• Recruitment of an assistant comptroller for the Chief Minister’s Office.
• Regularization of contract employees in the Public Health Engineering Department.
• Formation of a search committee to appoint the Vice Chancellor of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad.
• Contract extensions for 583 employees in the Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education project.
• Amendments to the Punjab Vagrancy Ordinance 1958 and the Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960.
• Appointments within the Punjab Agriculture Food and Drug Authority.
• Inclusion of new projects in the Annual Development Programme.
• Reconstitution of the Punjab Workers Welfare Fund’s governing body.
• Approval of salary payments for contract staff at Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College.
• Formation of search committees to appoint vice chancellors for Mir Chakar Khan Rind University of Technology, Punjab University of Technology Rasul, and the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade’s Board of Directors.