Punjab: Rs 175 billion allocated for development: Shahbaz

[Naveed Yaseen]

CHIEF Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif presided over a meeting to review the Annual Development Programme (ADP) at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here on Saturday.

The meeting, which lasted for six hours, reviewed the utilisation of funds and implementation of development schemes under the ADP during first quarter of the fiscal year.

Addressing the meeting, Mr Shahbaz said all resources were being made available for the development of the province and welfare of the masses and transparent utilisation of funds was being ensured. He said under the ADP, record funds of Rs 175 billions had been allocated for development and meetings were being held every month for reviewing utilisation of funds and implementation of development projects. He said 98 percent schemes had been approved while the rate of utilisation of funds was also satisfactory, adding that the remaining two percent schemes would also be approved within the next week.

The chief minister said we would have to adopt the habit of living within our own resources like a self-reliant nation, shunning the foreign aid. He said no country could make progress with the foreign aid. He said we had not made progress by foreign aid and we could not do it in future. He said the country could be put on the road to progress only by hard work, honesty and sense of responsibility.

The cm said provision of basic facilities and justice to people was our responsibility and we would have to fulfil it at every cost. He said generation of additional resources and achieving fixed targets of revenue were important for speedy development and the Board of Revenue and Excise and Taxation departments should achieve the revenue targets at all costs. He said if the Revenue and Excises and Taxation departments eliminated leakage in the process of revenue collection and made officers involved in embezzlement accountable, there would be not hurdle in achieving the fixed targets. He said short and long term reforms were necessary for improving the performance of the said departments to improve the system of revenue collection.

He said he would extend full support to the heads of the departments concerned for making reforms. He said that besides paying attention to the provision of facilities of health, education and potable water to the people, technical education should also be promoted. Shahbaz Sharif said that importance had been given to schemes for the welfare of common man in the ADP and the ongoing schemes were being completed on a priority basis. He directed the officials concerned to constitute a committee for removing the impediments in the way of various schemes and their execution which would submit its recommendations, keeping in view all aspects of the said schemes within four days while the committee, headed by the chief secretary, would evolve a policy regarding the employees working on daily wages in different departments so that transparent utilisation of funds allocated for their wages could be ensured.

Taking notice of the recruitment of doctors through fake degrees in the province, the chief minister said particulars of all the contract employees should be completely screened and effective strategy be evolved in this regard. He said the case of doctors being recruited through bogus degrees in Rawalpindi had been handed over to the Anti-corruption Department and the persons responsible would not be spared at all. He said the merit policy had been promoted in the province and in addition to police, 40,000 educators were being recruited purely on merit. He directed the officials concerned to complete the process of recruitment of educators as soon as possible. He directed all the divisional commissioners to give him a detailed briefing regarding implementation of development projects and utilisation of funds under the MPA package. He issued directions for completion of computerisation of land record and the biggest forensic lab of Asia.

The CM said the pace of development in the province should be accelerated and in the next meeting, further improvement should be visible in recoveries, development schemes and utilisation of funds.

Earlier, Planning and Development Chairman Sami Saeed gave a detailed briefing about utilisation of funds and implementation of development schemes under the ADP.

Additional Chief Secretary Javed Aslam said the IT Centre Project on the Ferozepur Road would be completed by April 28 and marketing plan had been finalised in this regard. Members national and provincial assemblies also submitted their proposals and suggestions regarding the development projects.

Punjab Minister for Law Rana Sanaullah Khan, Senator Ishaq Dar, members national and provincial assemblies, the chief secretary, additional chief secretary, senior members Board of Revenue, administrative secretaries, all divisional commissioners were present in the meeting.

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