No administrative hurdle to be allowed in development projects’

No administrative hurdle will be allowed to be created in execution of development projects and in case of any obstacle, the Punjab Planning & Development Department chairman, in consultation with the departments concerned, should remove the same immediately, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Saturday.
He was chairing a meeting to review the Annual Development Programme for large cities, packages for various districts and implementation on the Southern Punjab Development Programme at the Chief Minister’s (CM) Secretariat. The CM directed officials that no stone be left unturned in achieving development targets of the current fiscal year and all energies be utilised for that purpose. He directed all divisional commissioners to hold regular meetings for reviewing the pace of implementation on development projects and law and order situation and ensure participation of elected representatives in the meetings. Shahbaz said that the first three districts displaying excellent performance in timely and transparent completion of development projects would be encouraged and directed the Punjab chief secretary to devise a strategy for selection of districts.
He said that transparency in development projects was hallmark of the Punjab government and proper utilisation of every single penny of public money and timely completion of development projects be ensured at all cost.
The CM said that such realistic projects be prepared for the next financial year at the time of fixing of priorities, which would be fully beneficial for the province and people could get maximum benefit from them. He said that bringing backward areas at par with developed ones were priorities of the Punjab government and mega development projects were being executed in 11 districts under the Southern Punjab Development Programme (SPDP). Shahbaz said that record funds had been allocated for development of Southern Punjab while development projects were being completed in those areas on a priority basis.