LAHORE - Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said billions of rupees have been spent on beautification and cleanliness in Lahore.
Presiding over a high level meeting on development schemes in Lahore on Monday, the chief minister directed the concerned departments to discharge their duties with dedication and commitment so that people get the best facilities and services. He expressed his displeasure at non-implementation of the model for services attached to development schemes and made it clear that now things would not happen like they happened in the past because he was answerable to people. He directed the authorities to work day and night to provide best facilities to people and give tangible results. He said that he always provided administrative support to departments and it was their responsibility to give results. “I shall not tolerate any delay in provision of facilities to people and officers failing to perform shall be sent packing. Now, lame excuses or leniency won’t work and everybody will have to perform and show results. The departments should proactively perform so that best services can be provided to people. An effective and feasible plan should be designed and presented within next few days,” the chief minister said.
MPA Ramzan Siddique Bhatti, Lord Mayor of Lahore Mubasher Javed, Deputy Mayor Ijaz Hafeez, LDA director general, deputy commissioner of Lahore, Lesco chief executive officer, Lahore Waste Management Company managing director and other officials attended the meeting.
Earlier, Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana and discussed matters of mutual interest, including development schemes and the ongoing public welfare programmes in southern Punjab. According to a handout issued here on Monday, the chief minister on this occasion praised public service schemes of the Punjab government and said new example of honesty, trust and hard work had been set. Naturally, these measures have been taken by the government for prosperity of people, he said. He told the governor that it was time to maintain unity because national unity and brotherhood would take Pakistan forward. He said the Punjab government had speedily completed different mega initiatives in the province to provide relief to people and added that development of southern Punjab had been given importance. Funds have been given for development schemes in southern Punjab more than the population ratio and it never happened in the past, he added.
The governor, who belongs to the southern city of Multan, was apprised by the chief minister that thousands of kilometres of rural roads had been constructed and repaired at the cost of billions of rupees under Khadim-e-Punjab Rural Roads Programme. Initiatives like Danish Schools, mobile health units and other mega welfare programmes have also been launched in southern Punjab, the chief minister said. Regrettably, he said, the past rulers fooled the masses of southern Punjab with hollow slogans and tall claims and took no practical steps to end the deprivation of the area. Similarly, the rulers belonging to the southern Punjab also badly ignored this area, he said. However, he said, the incumbent government had completed many mega projects in southern Punjab to improve quality of life. He said the public welfare projects started by the PML-N government in southern Punjab had no resemblance in the 70-year history of Pakistan. He said people of southern Punjab had reposed their confidence in the PML-N and they would do so in future as well.
On the occasion, Governor Rafique Rajwana said the PML-N government had taken revolutionary steps for development and well-being of southern Punjab and given funds amounting to billions of rupees for this purpose.
He said he was satisfied that Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was personally supervising every mega initiative in southern Punjab. This reflects his true service to his their people, he said. This is the reason people of southern Punjab love the chief minister, he concluded.
