FAISALABAD - Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht said on Wednesday that all the schemes of Faisalabad District Development Programme with allocation of Rs 13 billion will be completed by the end of this financial year.

He was chairing a review meeting of Faisalabad District Development Programme here at P&D (Planning and Development Punjab) Complex. Minister of State for Broadcasting Farrukh Habib, Provincial Minister for Excise and Development Hafiz Mumtaz Ahmed, P&D Board Chairman Abdullah Khan Sanbal, Secretary Finance Iftikhar Ali Saho, Deputy Commissioner Faisalabad Ali Shehzad and other officers concerned attended the meeting.

Hashim added that a modern system of urban transport would be introduced in Faisalabad besides resolving the problems of clean drinking water, municipal and WASA in the district on priority basis.

 As an important center of industrial activities, he said, Faisalabad was also in focus and Punjab government would give a new face to Faisalabad in two years, asserting that Faisalabad Ring Road should also be made a part of the development programme. 

Expressing dissatisfaction over the progress on development schemes, Farukh Habib stressed the need for speeding up the work on the ongoing road schemes. He said that the issue in ongoing development schemes was not the provision of funds but the pace of work. The district government should ensure proper monitoring and timely completion of development works. In addition to district level development schemes, the department of communication and works should also pay attention to municipal schemes, he said.

He directed that a final timeline should be set for the completion of road projects included in the Chief Minister’s package. The problems of WASA Faisalabad and Parks and Horticulture Authority Faisalabad should also be solved. Faisalabad Cardiology Hospital and Children’s Hospital should also be made part of the annual development program.

Expressing satisfaction over the Rs 13 billion district development package by the Punjab government, the minister of state said that the district development package would give an opportunity to the public representatives to solve the long standing problems of the local people.

The Deputy Commissioner Faisalabad informed the meeting that annual district development programme for the financial year 2020-21 included 2708 schemes worth Rs 90,650 million for which a total of Rs 36,078 million was allocated.

He mentioned that during last FY, 95 percent of the funds released for Faisalabad were spent. Schemes completed in Faisalabad in the last financial year include Kashmir underpass. In the development program of 2021-22, 289 new schemes had been included in the district while 182 ongoing schemes had been included for which a total of Rs 15.394 billion was allocated. Out of the development schemes for the current financial year, 1,891 schemes were part of the District Development Programme.

Hashim Jawan directed the Deputy Commissioner Faisalabad to inform the next meeting about the details of the schemes to be completed in Faisalabad and to fix the timeline for completion of the ongoing schemes.

He asked accelerating the work on the schemes as well. He assured that all possible assistance would be provided to the district government for the timely completion of the schemes.

The minster asked the transport department to conduct a feasibility study for the urban transport system. Further, the Communications and Works department were also instructed to complete the survey and preliminary estimates for Faisalabad Ring Road. Hashim also directed that cardiology and children hospitals schemes should be made part of the next annual development programme.