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LAHORE, Jan 03 (APP):Punjab Minister for Local Government and Community Development (LG&CD) Zeeshan Rafique has reviewed the progress of the Model Village Programme and Lahore Development Programme (LDP) during a meeting held at the Civil Secretariat, here on Saturday.
The meeting was attended by Secretary Local Government Shakeel Ahmed Mian, Special Secretary Development Asia Gul, Special Secretary Local Government Arshad Baig and Additional Secretary Development Ahmer Kaifi. CEO Punjab Rural Municipal Services Company (PRMSC) Asadullah briefed the meeting on the Model Village Programme, while Deputy Commissioner Syed Musa Raza gave a briefing on the Lahore Development Programme.
Addressing the meeting, the minister said that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s Model Village Programme was a unique initiative aimed at providing modern municipal services in rural areas in line with the Chief Minister’s vision. He said that in the first phase, 469 villages across 10 divisions of Punjab had been selected for the programme.
He informed the meeting that PRMSC had so far issued tenders for development schemes in 336 villages, while work had been awarded for 114 villages. The minister said that the selected villages included 38 in Sargodha, 44 in Sahiwal, 55 in Gujranwala, 47 in Gujrat division, 62 in Multan, 39 in Dera Ghazi Khan, 47 in Sheikhupura district of Lahore division and 56 in Rawalpindi, besides 47 villages in Bahawalpur division and 34 in Faisalabad.
Zeeshan Rafique said that under the programme, water supply, sewerage and street paving schemes would be completed in the selected villages. He added that damaged traditional huts would be restored, aquaculture would be promoted by cleaning wastewater ponds, village parks would be developed and aesthetically designed tiles would be used for street paving.
The minister directed PRMSC to ensure that no street remained unpaved in any model village, stressing that the Chief Minister wanted equal facilities for villages and cities. He said village drains would be constructed keeping in view livestock waste management, with large-diameter pipes installed to facilitate cleaning, and added that the scope of the programme would be expanded in phases.
Reviewing the Lahore Development Programme, the minister expressed satisfaction over the pace of work on Phase-II and directed that all projects be completed within the stipulated timeframe. He instructed deputy and assistant commissioners to ensure effective monitoring, reiterating that there would be no compromise on quality and transparency. He emphasised special attention to street lighting and development of green areas, adding that lessons learnt from Phase-I were being applied and citizens were benefiting from the phased completion of development schemes.