66 cities of Punjab to be uplifted in new financial year
LAHORE: Under the Chief Minister Cities Development Programme, the Punjab government has decided to launch development schemes in 66 cities of Punjab in the new financial year.
Under this programme, all dirt roads will be paved or repaired, along with the construction and repair of connection roads, and a comprehensive sewage system will be introduced. Moreover, disposal stations will be solarised while sewerage problems will be solved by keeping in mind the needs of the population in 2050. In addition to rainwater drainage, storage tanks will also be built, and restoration of parks will also be included in the project. In this connection, the copies of PC-1 have been sent to the relevant municipal bodies.
In this regard, Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq issued instructions while chairing a meeting through a video link on Thursday. Punjab Local Government Secretary Shakeel Ahmed Mian, Additional Secretary Ahmar Kaifi, PMDFC MD and Deputy Commissioners of various districts participated.
The Minister directed the concerned deputy commissioners to keep the model of the Lahore Development Programme in mind while working on the development schemes. He clarified that there will be no additional recruitment for the Cities Development Programme except for technical experts, and thus, only the available human resources will be utilised. 'The Punjab Local Government Department will complete this mega project in collaboration with Public Health Engineering,' he added.
Rafiq said that in the next phase, 110 more cities will be included in the programme; in every city, all dirt roads will be paved or repaired, along with the construction and repair of connection roads, and a comprehensive sewage system will be introduced. 'In this connection, the copies of PC-1 have been sent to the relevant municipal bodies,' he added.
He said the deputy commissioners have also been made members of the steering committee. He observed that in the past, only partial schemes were completed in cities; however, for the first time, an end-to-end solution for sanitation will be provided. He directed that transparency should be taken care of while implementing the project on the timeline.
On this occasion, the Secretary said that e-tendering and digital payment methods should be implemented in the programme. He directed that before the construction of the streets, sui gas, electricity companies and cable network institutions should complete their work. 'After the completion of the work,' he warned, 'digging will be prohibited without the NOC of the district administration.' He said the use of safe and durable sewer pipes is the highlight of this program, adding that the benefits of HTP-lined sewer pipes will last for the next 100 years.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
12 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Pakistan debt stock reaches all-time high of Rs75trn
KARACHI: The federal government's total debt stock surged by over Rs 6 trillion during the first ten months of this fiscal year (FY25) due to massive borrowing to finance the budget deficit. According to a statistic released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday, the central government's total debt, comprising domestic and external liabilities, rose by 9 percent during July-April of FY25. Overall, the stock reached an all-time high level of Rs 74.936 trillion by the end of April 2025 compared to Rs 68.914 trillion as of June 2024, depicting an increase of Rs 6.022 trillion. The major growth in debt stocks was attributed to domestic borrowings, which rose by 11.37 percent or Rs 5.363 trillion to reach Rs 52.523 trillion in April 2025 up from Rs 47.16 trillion in June 2024. The domestic debt comprised long-term loans worth Rs 44.132 trillion and short-term borrowings amounting to Rs 8.328 trillion. Pakistan govt's debt stock soars to Rs73.6trn by March-end External debt, in rupee terms, saw an increase of Rs 659 billion during the first ten months of FY25, reaching Rs 22.413 trillion by the end of April 2025 compared to Rs 21.754 trillion in June 2024. The SBP reported that the Weighted Average Customer Exchange Rate of the US dollar was Rs 278.3668 in June 2024 and Rs 280.9739 in April 2025. The federal government's debt showed a notable increase of Rs 1.248 trillion in April 2025 due to massive borrowing to finance the budget deficit. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the federal government's debt stock rose by 2 percent from Rs 73.688 trillion in March 2025 to Rs 74.936 trillion in April 2025. Analysts noted that the tax collection by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is 26 percent higher during the first eleven (July-May) months of this fiscal year compared to previous year; however, cumulatively FBR has failed to achieve the target. The shortfall in revenue collection has compelled the federal government to borrow from domestic and external resources. FBR had missed its revenue collection target by some one trillion rupees in the first eleven months of this fiscal year due to lower imports and slowing economic growth. The FBR has collected some Rs10.233 trillion between July-May of FY25 as against the budgetary target of Rs11.241 trillion for the same period. The SBP has already emphasised the need for a sharp acceleration in tax revenue growth to meet the annual targets. Achieving the primary balance target remains a significant challenge for the government. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
16 hours ago
- Business Recorder
CM Maryam vows to safeguard rights of children
LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif in her message on the 'International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression' said that millions of innocent children in Palestine and Kashmir have unfortunately become victims of Israeli and Indian aggression. When the innocent smiles of children turn into sighs and sobs, humanity feels heartfelt grief and sorrow over it, she said, adding: 'Thousands of small bodies buried under the rubble of buildings in Gaza are a testament of global apathy to Israeli aggression. In Gaza, the buildings destroyed due to Israeli bombing have not only turned into rubble but thousands of innocent children also got buried under it. The environment of Kashmir is filled with heavy sobs of children whose voices have been muted forever.' She regretted that this human tragedy being faced by the innocent children who have become victims of aggression across the globe speaks volume of the dark side of human history. The Chief Minister denounced that children unfortunately become victims of aggression not only in wars but also in peacetime. She highlighted that all possible measures will be taken to protect the innocent children from becoming victims of all kinds of exploitation and aggression in Punjab. She outlined that the provincial cabinet of Punjab has approved the 'Child Protection Policy' for the first time in Pakistan. Every institution, every law and every step of the Punjab government is aligned for the rights, protection and welfare of the children. She emphasized that a society which cannot guarantee and provide peace to the children can never achieve sustainable peace itself. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
16 hours ago
- Business Recorder
President, PM pay tribute to security forces
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have paid tribute to the security forces for killing 14 India-sponsored Khwarij in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan. In their separate statements, they praised the bravery of the security forces and reiterated that due to their professional expertise, the scourge of terrorism would be uprooted entirely. President Zardari reiterated nation's resolve to eliminate terrorist elements and defend the country remained unwavering and expressed the country's commitment to eradicate the Fitna-al-Khawarij. Calling terrorists, the enemies of the humanity, the prime minister in a statement said their nefarious designs would be thwarted. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
