Flour bags being continuously supplied at govt rates in province: Usman Buzdar

In line with the directions of Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar, flour bags are being continuously supplied in the province at government rates. In this regard, the chief minister said in a statement that 484 sale points have been set up in different areas of the province and supply of flour bags is also in progress through trucks at 207 points. There is no shortage of wheat or flour in the province and the number of sale points has also been increased to provide relief to the citizens, he added. Due to the efforts made by the food department as well as the field administration, the situation is normal and no one will be allowed to make an unjustified increase in the price of flour. He reiterated that the sale of flour is going on as per routine. Meanwhile, administrative officers and food department officials also visited different sale points to review the provision of flour bags at government rates. DC Mianwali visited different sale points in the city and according to him, 20kg flour bag is being provided to the people at Rs 805. Wheat and flour stocks are available in abundance and situation is normal in all the three tehsils of the district, he concluded. Meanwhile, Usman Buzdar chaired a meeting at his office on Tuesday to review six-monthly progress on the provincial annual development program. The meeting was told that ADP’s total volume is Rs.350 billion and Rs.42 billion is allocated for public-private partnership based projects. An amount of Rs.183 billion has been released till January 17, 2020, and different provincial departments have utilized Rs.106 billion on different ADP schemes. Meanwhile, the P&D department has accorded approval to 85 schemes during the last 45 days. The chief minister directed to expedite work on ADP projects adding that provincial departments should get their schemes approved by January 31, 2020. Any departmental delay, in this regard, will not be tolerated, he warned. The chief minister maintained that mega projects were being started through a public-private partnership to expedite economic development besides provision of necessary facilities to the people. He directed to ensure timely utilization of ADP funds and observed that an effective monitoring system is imperative in this regard. ADP targets will be achieved at any cost and action will be initiated against departments failing to achieve their targets. I want practical steps, instead of paperwork and the departments failing to timely utilize their development funds will be liable to be answerable, he added. We are public representatives and answerable to them. Idleness will not help anymore; officers should go into the field to monitor the ADP progress. The difference between the on-ground situation and file work will not be tolerated any more, he stated. I will review ADP progress every month, he added. The chief minister said that quality and timely completion of ADP projects should be especially focussed so that the people could take maximum benefit. The departments should ensure correct and timely utilization of funds and any laziness is not acceptable in this regard. The chief minister also directed to expedite the pace of work on foreign-funded projects for their timely completion. Chairman and Secretary P&D briefed about ADP funds’ utilization and progress on PPP mode schemes. Advisor Salman Shah, Mussarat Jamshed Cheema MPA, Chief Secretary, Chairman P&D and administrative secretaries attended the meeting. Also, Rector National University of Technology (NUTECH) Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Khalid Asghar called on Chief Minister Usman Buzdar at his office. Talking on this occasion, the chief minister said that departments’ capacity is being enhanced through the latest technology for improving their service delivery. He said the Punjab government started working on eight new universities and five technical institutes are also being set up to empower the youth through skills-based education. Backward areas have been given preference for setting up new institutions, he added. Technical universities are also being established in Rawalpindi and Rasul; he added and further said that technical education syllabus is being revised. He observed that Mir Chakkar Khan Rind University in DG Khan will change the destiny of the local youth. The employment targets will be achieved through the promotion of technical education, he maintained. The PTI government has given priority to improving the education sector and sufficient increase has been made in the education budget as compared with the previous financial year, concluded the chief minister. Separately, Usman Buzdar expressed a deep sense of sorrow over the death of Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Rahat Latif. In a condolence message, he extended sympathies to the bereaved family and prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace.