LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has said 100 percent transparency and 100 percent quality are the hallmark of her governance model.
She stated that in the largest development initiative in Pakistan’s history, the Punjab Development Programme, Rs80 billion have been saved through e-tendering. Public funds are a sacred trust and every penny must be protected and spent judiciously. Roads, streets and neighbourhoods cannot be left dug up, as such negligence causes serious inconvenience to the public.
Chairing a video-link review meeting, the chief minister set June 30 as the deadline for the completion of all sewerage and drainage projects. A province-wide ban was imposed on leaving excavation work incomplete or roads open after digging. She directed that all manholes be covered with nets/meshes at the earliest and agreed to engage traders and civil society in the manhole safety initiative. During a briefing, it was informed that desilting works and underground water recharge systems have been incorporated into underground storage water tanks. Geo-tagging of 838,555 manholes across the province has been completed, while installation of protective nets/meshes is underway. Over 3,000 manholes have already been fitted with nets/meshes. For the first time, desilting of drainage channels and sewerage lines has been carried out in 41 cities of Punjab, removing 550 tons of silt and sludge.
In her message on the World Refugee Day, Maryam said that becoming a refugee is not a crime but a painful compulsion. “No one becomes a refugee by choice. One has to abandon one’s courtyard, one’s soil and one’s roof to survive,” she said. She said Pakistan always stood by the oppressed and would continue to raise its voice for the welfare and rights of refugees.
The chief minister condemned the Bannu explosion and expressed sorrow over the loss of innocent lives in the incident.
