The Punjab Finance Minister has said that the Punjab government has developed a 'Punjab jobs and competitiveness programme' with the assistance of World Bank to support sustainable economic development in the province. "The Punjab Spatial Strategy (PSS) is one of the key components of this programme," he said while addressing a departmental meeting at Planning and Development Board Punjab here on Friday. He further said that the Punjab Cabinet has approved the Punjab Spatial Strategy to give effect to spatial planning regime in Punjab.
"The aim to work on PSS was not only to build foundations of geospatial data in planning process of Punjab but also deploy this spatial database for effective use in policymaking, especially in relation to development programs. Using new technologies and strategies for geospatial data, Punjab can exploit alternative information sources such as acquiring remotely sensed data in addition to using conventional survey technology," he added.
According to him, the PSS is a long-term spatial planning framework for the province of Punjab. It sets out spatial policies to provide evidence-based direction to the pattern of public and private investment in Punjab, and acts as a layout plan for continuous and sustainable development in the province. These spatial policies take forward key aims of the PSS and also ensure alignment of public sector investments and spatial governance in sector of environment, agriculture, irrigation, industries and cities.
Habibur Rehman Gillani, Chairman of Planning and Development Board Punjab, who guided the approval processes and finalization of the strategy, stressed on the need for implementation of this strategy. He added that leveraging these strong foundations in spatial data and analysis will not only augment the capacities in development planning but will also integrate the individual schemes with the larger development vision set by the government.
He told the meeting that the P&D Board has been working with the Urban Unit to collect spatial data of Punjab which was analyzed under guidance of leading national and international experts. The strategy has been developed under the guidance of Dr Salman Shah, Advisor to CM Punjab on Economic Affairs, Planning and Development and Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht for his continuous support and patronage in getting PSS approved, he added.