'Massive construction of roads game changer for rural economy'

Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that a massive programme of construction and rehabilitation of rural roads has been started which will be a game changer for rural economy. He said that an amount of Rs 15 billion is being spent on Khadim-e-Punjab Rural Roads Programme during current fiscal year whereas a huge amount of Rs 150 billion will be utilized on this programme during next three years.
He said that a target has been fixed for the construction and rehabilitation of all rural roads of the province during next three years. He said that all segments of rural population will benefit from Khadim-e-Punjab Rural Roads Programme and it will result in progress and development of rural areas. He was presiding over a high level meeting here today which reviewed in detail the pace of Khadim-e-Punjab Rural Roads Programme. Secretary Communication & Works gave a detailed briefing to the meeting. The Chief Minister gave approval to the construction of shoulders of two feet along both sides of 12-feet wide roads.
Addressing the meeting, the Chief Minister said that Khadim-e-Punjab Rural Roads Programme will prove to be a milestone in the strengthening of rural economy. He said that under this programme, 12 feet wide carpeted roads are being constructed in rural areas while in addition to two feet wide paved shoulders, four feet wide unpaved shoulders will also be constructed. He said that "Pakiyan Sarkan, Saukhay Panday" project will facilitate the farmers in taking their agri produce to markets as well as result in speedy transport facilities in rural areas. He said that those showing good performance under this programme will be encouraged while inefficient officials will be held accountable.
The Chief Minister directed that availability of the material used for construction and repair of rural roads at reasonable rate should be ensured and special attention should be paid to the quality of the construction material. He directed that testing laboratories of Communication & Works Department should be outsourced for the checking of construction material. He said that capacity-building of contractors and consultants is of vital importance for this project of billions of rupees and road show should be arranged for this purpose.
He further directed that hiring of services of foreign consultant should also be considered. The Chief Minister directed that a comprehensive mechanism be evolved to check the entry of overloaded vehicles on the rural roads while proper arrangements should be made for the maintenance of the newly constructed roads. He said that immediate measures should be taken for setting up of a separate and autonomous institution for this purpose. He said that regular inspection of the rural roads constructed under this programme should also be ensured while proper arrangements should be made for the drainage of water from the roads. He said that Punjab Information Technology Board should develop a dashboard of all rural roads.
Provincial Ministers Tanvir Aslam Malik, Dr Farrukh Javed, Malik Nadeem Kamran, Chief Secretary, Chairman Planning & Development, secretaries of concerned departments and senior officers attended the meeting.