ISLAMABAD  -   The Prime Minister has directed Interior Ministry and all provincial governments to ensure fool-proof security measures, functional price control committees and availability of commodities during Ramzan.

In a letter addressed to Ministry of Interior and Chief Secretaries of all provincial governments including AJ&K and Gilgit Baltistan, the Prime Minister has directed that coordination meetings with all provinces should be held to streamline the arrangements including security measures.

The PM Office has directed that physical presence of officers at Mandis, specially monitoring the auction process in order to keep base prices at minimum level should be ensures during Ramzan.

It directed the provincial governments that intelligence based action should be taken against black marketing and hoarding.

The provinces have been asked to issue detailed duty roster in each district covering all important markets, without over stretching the officers.

To complement effective implementation and monitoring, services of officers of line departments may be incorporated and investment of magisterial power by the concerned law departments, if required.

The Prime Minister Office has advised that performance monitoring of the officers and districts should be made on KPIs and setting success benchmarks. It has further advised that volunteers should be mobilized to get feedback about shortages and overpricing on Citizen Complain Portal.

The Prime Minister Office has stressed upon the need for holding well managed Sasta Bazars with availability of all essential commodities on control prices.

District Price Control Committees and Law & Order Committees headed by respective DCs should meet at regular intervals.

He also emphasized upon the need for ensuring fool-proof security arrangements especially during traveh.

The Prime Minister Office further advised the provincial government that surprise checking by the senior provincial officers in the districts should be ensured.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that high-rise buildings would be built in the federal capital to provide efficient housing to the slum dwellers, under the Naya Pakistan Housing project.

Chairing a meeting on the affairs of Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Monday, he said provision of quality housing to the slum dwellers was a key component of government’s housing policy, a Prime Minister Office statement said.

He said, in this regard, the government was negotiating with foreign investors and the project would provide the construction of commercial buildings on pricey land besides accommodation to the residents of the slums.

The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on CDA Ali Nawaz Awan, Spokesperson to Prime Minister Nadeem Afzal Chan, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Yousuf Baig Mirza and CDA Chairman Amer Ahmed Ali and other senior officers.

The CDA chief briefed the prime minister on the performance of the civic body, structural and procedural reforms, uplift of social sector, environmental protection, enhancement of revenue and completion of halted projects.

It was told that shelter houses for down-and-out people had been constructed at Tarlai, sector I-11 (Pir Wadhai) and sector G-9 (Peshawar Mor) where the inhabitants would also be provided food. The facilitation centers had also been built at Tarlai, Bhara Kahu and G-11, he added.

Regarding the anti-encroachment drive, the CDA chairman said the process to retrieve illegally occupied land of CDA was going on in Malpur and Korang Area. Around 2,000 kanals in sector E-12 and 300 kanal at Grand Truck Road had already been recovered. He also updated the meeting about the retrieval of Quaid-e-Azam University’s land.

The prime minister was told that construction of link roads of sectors I-14 and I-16 had been started while development work in sector I-15 and Park Enclave was in progress.

It was told that the CDA had so far rehabilitated 60 parks and planted 0.5 million saplings under Clean and Green Pakistan drive.

The CDA chief briefed the prime minister on the structural reforms in CDA, urban regeneration plan, solid waste management and measures to cope with water needs of the federal capital.