THE Punjab cabinet is scheduled to meet here on Wednesday (today) to approve drafts of some laws as well as an amendment to the Punjab Sugar Factories Control Act 1950. The amendment is aimed at increase in fine over violation of the Act by sugar factories from just Rs50,000 to hefty amount of Rs 1 million.

The meeting will also approve a law pertaining to introduction of the much-awaited regulatory body for private educational institutions of the province. It is learnt the meeting will approve the Punjab Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PPEIRA) Act 2011 as well as the establishment of IT University at Lahore Software Technology Park which had recently been renamed as Arfa Software Technology Park. The meeting will also approve establishment of the Akhuwat University at Dera Ghazi Khan.

According to sources, the Punjab government has decided to increase the amount of fine to the sugar factories which violate the Sugar Factories Act 1950 up to Rs1,000,000 (one million) from Rs50,000.

The amendment to the Section 21 of the Sugar Factories Act 1950 would be tabled before the Punjab Cabinet for formal approval on Wednesday (today). The Section 21 of the act deals with the penalties and reads as “21. Penalties.— [17][(a) Subject to subsection (aa), any person contravening the provisions of this Act or any order or rule made thereunder shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees or with both.” “(aa) Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of sections 16 or 16-A, or any directions issued thereunder, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extent twice the price of the sugarcane or twice the amount of quality premium due, as the case may be.”

While the Section 16 deals with Powers of Provincial Government to fix minimum price which reads as “-(i) The Provincial Government, after consultation with the Board, may, by notification, determine in respect of any area the minimum price to be paid by occupiers of factories or purchasing agents for cane purchased in that area either generally or related to the sugar contents of the cane or direct that such minimum price shall be “Calculated in the manner prescribed,

(ii) The Provincial Government may, from time to time vary, by notification, the price fixed under sub-section (i).

(iii) The occupier of a factory or a purchasing agent shall not make any deduction from the amount due for the cane sold to him by a cane grower or a Cane-Growers’ Cooperative Society, except such deductions as may be prescribed or as the Provincial Government may, by notification, from tin1e to time; .allow.

“16-A. Quality Premium:- The provincial government may direct the factories to pay quality premium at the end of the crushing season at such rate as may be specified by the provincial government in proportion to the sucrose recovery of each factory in excess of base level sucrose contents determined by the Provincial Government, from time to time.”

The sources said that the proposed amendment was decided following the problems faced by the sugarcane growers. They said the proposed amendment would create deterrence among the sugar factories as the fine amount was increased to minimum Rs500,000 to Rs 1 million as compared to only Rs50,000. It is pertinent to mention here that an independent regulatory body for private schools has been a longstanding demand of the people. In its last tenure, the PML-Q government had made tall claims to introduce legislation to control the unbridled working of private educational institutions, especially private schools, of the province but to no avail.

The incumbent PML-N government when came into power in 2008 took up the issue of great public concern and vowed to introduce regulatory body for private schools working across the province. The government had formed a number of committees and had tasked them to give recommendations for establishing an independent regulatory body for private educational institutions.

The PML-N government right after coming into power had also announced converting the Chief Minister’s Secretariat into IT University for Women but later the project was dropped citing security reasons. Sources said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, by establishing IT University at Arfa Software Technology Park, wanted to fulfill his promise that he made before coming into power in 2008.

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