The Punjab government will launch cleanliness and development programme for villages at a cost of Rs 19 billion. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif gave the final nod for the project during a meeting held here on Saturday. The sanitation and development projects will be launched at the union council level under this programme and representatives of local government institutions will identify schemes.
While the addressing the meeting, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that the rural sanitation and development programme will bring about positive change in villages and an effective cleanliness system will be set up at village level under this program. "This programme will be implemented in a professional manner and transparently. It will be our combined responsibility to ensure transparent utilization of resources under this programme and it will visibly change the life in rural areas, like the Khadam-e-Punjab Rural Roads Programme," he added.
The chief minister directed the concerned officials to form a provincial steering committee for the implementation and monitoring of this programme. He said the provincial law minister, local government minister and provincial minister planning and development will jointly preside over this committee while mayor and chairmen of district councils will also be included in the committee. "This programme is an important step towards making local government institutions more effective and it will also help improve cleanliness system in villages. We have made cities clean and in the same way villages will also be made clean," he assured the participants.
On the occasion, the secretary local government gave a briefing on the programme. Provincial ministers Rana Sanaullah, Mansha Ullah Butt, Malik Nadeem Kamran and Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, MNA Hamza Shahbaz, Senator Saood Majeed, MNA Mehar Ishtiaq Ahmed, Chief Secretary, Chairmen District Councils of Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Narowal, Sheikhupura, Kasur and Chakwal, Lord Mayor Lahore and Secretaries of concerning departments attended the meeting.