LAHORE: Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman has directed the administrative officers to permanently remove encroachments from cities and control the ‘unruly rickshaws’ without making anyone unemployed.
He passed these directions during his visit to Sargodha to review the implementation of public welfare initiatives of the Chief Minister Punjab. He inspected Khushab Road, other bazaars and issued necessary instructions regarding removal of encroachments and improving the traffic system.
He said to resolve the problem of parking and encroachments in bazaars, the municipal corporation officials must be assigned permanent duties. He asked the deputy commissioners to remain in the field for two hours every day to improve the traffic system and remove encroachments.
The Chief Secretary also inspected the Salwanali Road disposal station where he was briefed by the chief officer Municipal Corporation about the sewage system. Divisional Commissioner Mohammad Ajmal Bhatti, Deputy Commissioner Aurangzeb Haider Khan and Superintending Engineer Public Health Engineering Syed Solat Raza were also present.
Later, the Chief Secretary presided over a meeting at the Commissioner's Office, which was attended by the commissioner, deputy commissioners, additional deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners of Sargodha, Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar.
The Chief Secretary reviewed the progress on the public welfare initiatives of the Chief Minister Punjab in the four districts of the division and took a briefing from the deputy commissioners on ‘Suthra Punjab’, price control, anti-polio, and revenue matters. He also asked the deputy commissioners of Sargodha, Khushab, Bhakkar and Mianwali to submit a sanitation plan of their respective districts for the next three months.
The Chief Secretary said that Suthra Punjab, price control and anti-polio should be the priority of every deputy commissioner, adding that all the assistant commissioners should be mobilized to achieve the goals of Suthra Punjab. He directed that the land record computerization work be completed as soon as possible. He said that the deputy commissioners must prepare an emergency plan to deal with floods, urban flooding and hill torrents.
The Chief Secretary said that a zero-tolerance policy has been adopted regarding corruption in government institutions. He emphasized that officers would have to work 18 hours a day to improve public service delivery and governance.
Expressing concern over the presence of polio virus in Punjab, the Chief Secretary ordered that the deputy commissioners are required to monitor the anti-polio activities themselves in districts and take regular reports on the performance of the field staff. He said that the shortage of manpower in municipal and revenue institutions is being met.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024