The Punjab government has started preparing a plan for regularization of illegal housing societies in the province. In this connection, Punjab Chief Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar chaired a meeting of Punjab Housing and Urban Development Department here on Thursday in which he directed the department to prepare a comprehensive plan to regularize illegal housing societies.
While addressing the meeting, the Chief Secretary said that improvement could be made by learning lessons from past mistakes. "There is a need to devise a strategy for permanent solution of problems related to illegal housing schemes," he added.
He also directed that public service delivery should be improved in Water and Sanitation Agencies (WASAs) besides taking measures for solarization of water supply system. He added that a sum of Rs 200 million has been allocated for solarization in the annual budget. He said process of commercialization in cities be made easier through use of information technology but it should only be allowed in designated areas after proper planning. "The government is taking measures to ensure provision of clean drinking water to rural areas as well," he added. He also issued instructions to the secretary housing regarding formulation of housing and urban development policy in consultation with all stakeholders. He said that improving governance and public service delivery is top priority of the government. He remarked that performance of departments could be improved through use of information technology and capacity-building of human resource. On the occasion, Punjab Housing and Urban Development Secretary Naseem Sadiq gave detailed briefing.