Punjab Agriculture Minister Malik Ahmed Ali Aulakh on Tuesday directed officers to effectively monitor development projects to achieve targets within time. He was chairing a meeting to review the Annual Development Programme (ADP) projects of the Punjab Forests, Wildlife, Fisheries & Tourism departments.
The minister reviewed the financial and physical progress of all development projects pertaining to all the attached departments. He expressed satisfaction over performance of the Punjab Forest Department and Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) while in case of the Punjab Wildlife & Parks Department, the Punjab wildlife director general was requested to hold special meetings with officers concerned of the Communications and Works (C&W) department to ensure completion of all ongoing civil works.
Aulakh expressed concern over 54 percent funds utilisation of the fisheries department and desired that all efforts be made to ensure utilisation of the development budget before expiry of the current financial year. During the meeting, the department secretary said that the Punjab Planning & Development Department is not considering the proposed projects of all departments pertaining to civil works.
The minister agreed to the proposal that the issue will be discussed in order to cater to the request of the department since execution of civil works is inevitable. Aulakh also decided that two projects of the fisheries department at Chashma and Manawan be completed within the next two months. He desired that in future, while preparing the development schemes of roadside plantations, the forest department should also include the provision of development of resting spots for travellers.
He requested the chief conservator of the Forest (Central Zone) Lahore to complete the inquiry of illegal cultivation on forest land in the Southern Zone.