30 Drs to get interest free loan of Rs 67.6 million

Lahore : Secretary Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Punjab Najam Ahmad Shah has directed to review the terms and conditions for issuance of interest free loans by the Punjab Health Foundation to the doctors for setting up clinics and purchase of medical equipment to make the process easy for getting loan. He directed that amendments should be brought into the concerned rules to wave-off the loans of the doctors who died after getting the loan.

He stated this while presiding over a meeting of Finance and Technical Committee of Punjab Health Foundation here today. Besides MD PHF Izhar Ahmad Sheikh, members of the committee including the Dr. Qamrul Islam Lodhi, DMD Mehboob Ahmad, Dr. Akhter Hussain and other officers attended the meeting. Thirty cases of the doctors presented in the meeting who have fulfilled the criteria.

The committee approved interest free loan of rupees 67.6 million to these doctors.

MD PHF Izhar Ahmad Sheikh briefed the Secretary regarding the procedure of releasing and recovery of the loan. He informed that Health Foundation is providing loan of rupees 8 lac to 2.5 million and the ratio of recovery is 96 percent. He observed that the loan scheme is very successful.

Secretary Health said that conditions for eligibility to availing interest free loan facility should be made flexible so that doctors should not dependant on the ‘Patwaries’ and other officials for getting ‘fard’ of land for mortgaging the property. He said that the PHF officers and legal experts should review the conditions in this regard.

Najam Ahmad Shah said that rules and regulations of Punjab health foundation should be made more doctors friendly. He said that necessary amendments would be introduced in the rules for waving-off the remaining installments of the loan of the doctors who had died after getting the loan.