LAHORE  -  In a major crackdown on organized beggary, the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday passed the Punjab Vagrancy Bill, making begging a non-bailable offense with severe punishments and fines for those forcing children and adults into the practice.

Under the new law, any ringleader who compels a person to beg faces up to three years in prison and a fine of Rs 300,000. In case of non-payment, an additional six months will be added to the sentence. For those forcing multiple individuals to beg, the punishment increases to three to five years in jail with a fine of up to Rs 500,000.

Stricter penalties apply to child exploitation. A ringleader coercing children into beggary will receive five to seven years in prison and a fine of Rs 700,000, with an additional one-year sentence for non-payment. The most severe penalty targets those who forcibly maim individuals for begging, carrying a sentence of seven to ten years in prison and a fine of Rs 2 million. Failure to pay the fine will result in two extra years behind bars.

Additionally, repeat offenders will face double the punishment prescribed in the law. The Punjab gov-ernment hopes that the harsher penalties and fines will help dismantle the beggar mafia operating across the province. The provincial cabinet has already approved these amendments to the Anti-Begging Law, aiming to bring professional beggars and their handlers to justice.

The Assembly also passed amendments to the local government law, bringing housing schemes in vil-lages under taxation. Previously, land developers avoided taxation by building schemes in rural areas. Under the revised law, the tax net will extend to urban areas as well, with collections handled by an institution appointed by the Punjab government. The revenue generated will be transferred to local governments for development and infrastructure improvements.

Despite the passage of two major bills, the Treasury benches faced embarrassment when a lack of quorum prevented the approval of four other bills on the day’s agenda. The session, which began two hours and twenty-six minutes late, saw the government successfully pass two bills before the Opposi-tion pointed out the incomplete quorum. When the Notaries Bill was presented, the Treasury failed to assemble enough members, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the session until 11 AM the next day.

Also, during the question-and-answer session, a heated exchange erupted between government member Amjad Ali Javed and Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat over the issues faced by special children. The debate escalated until Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan intervened to restore order between the two.