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Business Recorder
12 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Green tractor scheme: applications will be received from 13th
LAHORE: The Punjab government will begin receiving applications for the second phase of Chief Minister's Green Tractor Programme from August 13, 2025, offering substantial subsidies to farmers in a bid to modernise agriculture and boost productivity. Under this phase, 10,000 locally-manufactured tractors of 50-65 horsepower will be provided with a Rs. 500,000 subsidy each, while another 10,000 locally-manufactured or imported tractors of 75-125 horsepower will be subsidised at Rs. 1 million each. Digital balloting at the tehsil level is scheduled for September 15. Announcing the initiative at a review meeting on ongoing projects under the transforming Punjab agriculture programme, Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani said the provincial government was committed to 'revolutionary programmes' aimed at uplifting farmers' incomes. He revealed that under the high-tech financing programme for the next fiscal year, farmers will receive 11 types of modern agricultural machinery on subsidy, with 1,000 units to be distributed. A budget of Rs. 30 billion has been allocated, offering interest-free loans of up to Rs. 30 million, repayable over five years, for machinery purchase. In water management, the Chief Minister's Water Conservation Project will line 1,400 watercourses and distribute 500 laser land levellers this year, with another 500 next year via transparent balloting. The Minister said the kissan card scheme remains a flagship project, enabling timely purchase of agricultural inputs. In its second phase, Rs. 94.15 billion has been allocated, with farmers already utilising Rs. 49.33 billion. Under the Chief Minister's Wheat Support Programme, Rs. 14 billion has been disbursed and 978 tractors distributed through transparent balloting. The province is also expanding its model agriculture malls, with facilities in Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, and Sargodha completed and 10 more planned in the next phase. The meeting was attended by Special Secretary Agriculture Nabeel Awan, Additional Secretary Agriculture Planning Aamir Shehzad, Director Generals Ch. Abdul Hameed, Naveed Asmat Kahloon, Engineer Sajid Hassan, Rana Tajammul, and other senior officials. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
03-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Water project components' contract cancelled
The Punjab government's project steering committee has cancelled a contract worth Rs20.4 billion awarded to a foreign firm for Lots 2 and 3 of the Chahan Dam Water Supply project and has ordered a fresh tendering process following a fact-finding investigation by the Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT). The Asian Development Bank-funded project had originally been awarded to a Turkish firm, Five-H Insaat, despite the successful joint venture bid having also included a Pakistani company, Qasim & Co. The steering committee questioned how the contract was awarded solely to the foreign firm when the bid was won as a joint venture. CMIT's intervention, prompted by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, is being credited for preventing a potential financial scandal. A high-level meeting chaired by Punjab Planning and Development Board Chairman Barrister Nabeel Awan, and attended by all relevant secretaries, their representatives, and Hamza Salik, Project Director of the "Dream Project," reviewed CMIT's findings before deciding to cancel the contract. The committee also decided that necessary action against the officials responsible for the contract award would be taken by the chief secretary. Additionally, in line with the Chief Minister's directive, all future foreign-funded projects will be reviewed by the steering committee every three months to ensure transparency. The contract in question had sparked legal action from Qasim & Co., who challenged the exclusion in court. After the matter was brought to the chief minister's notice, she instructed CMIT to conduct a fact-finding inquiry and submit a report within seven days. The CMIT investigation, led by Chairman Salman Ejaz along with members Ahsan Waheed, Ghulam Abbas Warraich, and an engineering specialist, found significant flaws in the procurement process, including the absence of regular quarterly reviews despite the project being foreign-funded. Now, under the guidance of the Chairman of the Planning and Development Wing Punjab, the Steering Committee of Dream Project-1 will decide within three weeks whether to reinstate or fully terminate the contract. If cancelled, the contract will be retendered. For context, Lot 1 of the Dream Project-1bringing 12 million gallons of water daily from Chahan Damhad previously been awarded for Rs6.36 billion to a joint venture between China Construction Third Engineering and a Pakistani partner. Meanwhile, Lot 4, worth Rs7.19 billion, was awarded to a joint venture of MS Mirakhan KBDL and Five-H Insaat. Lot 4 covers the upgrade of filtration plants, pumping stations, and old pipelines at Rawal and Khanpur dams to ensure 24/7 water supply to the Khayaban-e-Sir Syed area.
