Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday launched the fourth phase of the Green Tractor Scheme through a digital balloting process and opened the application portal for its fifth phase, as the provincial government has announced plans to provide 19,500 tractors to farmers during the current fiscal year. The chief minister pressed a button to conduct the digital balloting, with the first tractor under Phase IV going to Masood Khan, son of Lal Khan, from Attock. According to a briefing, 10,000 tractors with 50 to 65 horsepower will be provided under Phase IV, with the Punjab government offering a subsidy of Rs750,000 per tractor. Under Phase V, 9,500 high-powered tractors ranging from 75 to 125 horsepower will be offered with a subsidy of Rs1 million each.
The government has allocated Rs17.6 billion for the Green Tractor Scheme, while 24,000 tractors have already been provided to farmers under the programme with a subsidy of Rs1 million per tractor. The chief minister congratulated the successful applicants and expressed good wishes for them. She inspected the tractors being offered under the scheme, including locally manufactured 90-horsepower and locally assembled 100-horsepower models. The briefing highlighted the scale of the provincial government's spending on agricultural mechanisation.
More than 213,637 farmers applied for the Green Tractor Programme, of whom 128,757 were declared eligible for the balloting after verification through the Punjab Land Records Authority and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). Separately, Maryam Nawaz felicitated the Saudi leadership and people on the National Day of Saudi Arabia. In a message, she said the people of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were very happy over the historic fraternal ties. She said Pakistan considered the protection of Harmain Sharifain a matter of great honour and privilege.
Meanwhile, Maryam Nawaz had a meeting with Traffic Warden Sohail Wazir Dogar and appreciated his honesty and sense of duty. During patrol from Timber Market towards Ravi Bridge, Sohail had found an unattended bag lying on the road and took it into custody. The bag contained a substantial amount of cash, a driving licence and other important documents. Sohail traced the owner of the bag, Zain-ul-Abideen, a resident of Begum Kot, and safely returned it along with all valuable items, setting a high example of honesty and dedication for the force.