LAHORE   -   Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif Thursday directed the authorities concerned to develop a centre of excellence for special children in each district as part of CM’s special initiatives. Chairing the thirds meeting of the of the Standing Committee of the Cabinet on Finance and Development (SCCFD), the Chief Minister also directed to develop indoor and outdoor play areas along with washrooms of international standard for the special children. The SCCFD sanctioned funds worth Rs651 million to launch the project in 14 districts initially. The concerned authorities briefed Madam Chief Minister that in the first phase, 12 schools for special children will be completely revamped this year. The Chief Minister said that monitoring of the project should be done through live streaming on the dashboard in the Secretary’s office through CCTV cameras. “Movement of children will be monitored through trackers in buses. Special activity rooms will also be made for the special children”,  she said, adding that budget of special education schools is being separated from that of school education. Madam Chief Minister directed to recruit trained teaching staff for special children. She directed the Finance Minister to accord top priority to the education of special children, and give them as much money as required. The CM was apprised that a center of excellence for special children will be built on 26 Kanal of land in Lahore.

Madam Chief Minister noted,”Thanks to government policies, inflation in Punjab has come down from 36 percent to 17 percent .” She added,” In the past, the government has been making things expensive for the public by giving money.”

SCCFD also sanctioned funds for digitization of settlement and rehabilitation records of the finance department. Funds were also sanctioned to CTD for the purchase of modern security equipment. Supplementary grant for the field hospitals and funds for the Clinic on Wheels programme were also approved in the meeting.

Funds were sanctioned for Chief Minister’s Roshan Gharana Programme, under which protected customers using 100 units per month will be given solar systems. Funds were also approved for the state-of-the-art computer lab in Government College of Technology, and retro-reflective number plates for vehicles. Madam Chief Minister directed the authorities concerned to clear the backlog of number plates within five months.

SCCFD gave in-principle approval of the International Undergraduate Scholarships and Local Scholarships Programme. Rs20 million were sanctioned by SCCFD for the archaeological excavation of 2500 BC old “Ganweriwala” village in Cholistan.

Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Provincial Ministers Azma Zahid Bukhar and Mujtaba Shujaur Rahman attended the meeting. Chief Secretary, IG Police, Secretaries and other relevant officers were also present.