MULTAN - Punjab Planning, Development and Prisons Minister Ch Abdul Ghafoor has said that 150 development projects are being executed at a cost of Rs3,554 million in Multan division under annual provincial development programme and all of them will be accomplished till June 2012.
Addressing a meeting held to review the pace of work here on Tuesday, the minister directed the officials concerned to complete the development projects within deadline and no project should be unaccomplished till June 2011. He asked the government officials to save as much time in formal procedures like tenders as they can and finalize the projects quickly so that the citizens could benefit from them. He also took serious notice of slow pace of work in irrigation schemes on which he was told that most of the projects were to be launched after closure of canals.
Briefing the minister at this occasion, Commissioner Multan division Khurram Agha said that 50 percent of total work of 150 development schemes was done while the remaining work would be done before June 2012. He added that 17 projects were underway in South Punajb under Southern Punjab Development Programme and funds worth Rs. 1387 million were being spent on them. He disclosed that the government had so far released Rs959 million for these projects. He told the minister that 55 percent work on three schemes of Multan, 25 percent on Khanewal’s four schemes, 15 percent on Vehari’s four schemes and 25 percent on Lodhran’s six schemes was done. The commissioner said that 75 percent of road widening project between Mumtazabad overhead bridge and Bahawalpur Chowk was done at a cost of Rs. 174 million while work was underway on Jalalpur Pirwala Public School’s new academic block at a cost of Rs. 48 million and IT Centre of Emerson College Multan at Rs68.5 million. He said that 30 percent of total work of these two projects was done.
The commissioner told the meeting that 116 development schemes under MPAs and MNAs grant were launched in Multan, 35 Khanewal, 30 Vehari and 34 Lodhran. He said that these projects included clean water supply, sewerage, field to market roads and provision of facilities to schools.
LQM THREATENS PROTEST: The Labour Qaumi Movement (LQM) warned the government on Tuesday that thousands of labourers would take to the roads from January 2012 if gas and power loadshedding continued.
Talking to the journalists, senior vice president of the movement Latif Ansari said that fake gas and power crisis destroyed entire industrial sector in the country, rendering millions of poor labourers jobless. He said that if the government failed to supply power to the industry and continued to impose fuel adjustment cost in electricity bills, the labourers would launch a country wide drive against rulers. He said that thousands of small and large industrial units were shut down as a result of which workers were