LAHORE: Additional Chief Secretary Southern Punjab Cap. Saqib Zafar (retd) has said that the construction work of Southern Punjab Secretariat Multan building is being carried out which will be completed in August 2023.
He further maintained that 400 kanals of land has been allotted for the building of Southern Punjab Secretariat Bahawalpur whereas Rs. 189 billion has been allocated in the budget for Southern Punjab. 45% of the budget has so far been spent on various development projects. He said that 1441 development projects out of 1541 for the 11 districts of Southern Punjab have been approved and work orders of 87% schemes have also been issued.
This was stated by him while briefing to Chief Secretary Punjab who was presiding over a level meeting to review development projects and performance of different departments at Southern Punjab on Sunday in Multan.
Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal said that the purpose of setting up of Southern Punjab Secretariat is to further improve the service delivery. Officers should discharge their duties wholeheartedly and with the spirit of public service.
The meeting also reviewed issues related to Southern Punjab Secretariat. The CS Punjab said that indicators have been introduced to evaluate the performance of secretaries as the Punjab government wants to ensure development of Southern Punjab adding that timely completion of development projects within the stipulated time is the top priority of the incumbent government.
He further directed that timely and transparent utilization of development funds should be ensured. He also lauded the performance of the Secretaries of Southern Punjab and the steps taken in the health and education sectors. The Chief Secretary also issued instructions for taking steps to safeguard the wildlife.
The meeting was informed that the work on the project of Institute of Cardiology in Multan would be completed next year. It was further briefed that the work on Nishtar Hospital II Multan and Sardar Fateh Mohammad Khan Institute of Cardiology DG Khan is in full swing. The Southern Punjab Education Department has launched Pakistan’s first online kids magazine, which is commendable step. The country’s first transgender school has been set up in Multan. The meeting was also informed that a special squad has been formed in Rahim Yar Khan to curb the illegal hunting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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