The Steering Committee on Punjab Agriculture, Food and Drug Testing Authority (PAFDA) established under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has finalised the work plan of PAFDA.
The progress status of different phases of construction of the infrastructure and procurement of the state-of-the-art gadgets for the most modern laboratories being upgraded under this new authority was reviewed in a briefing session presided over by Additional Chief Secretary Punjab Shamail Ahmad Khawaja at the Civil Secretariat, Lahore.
The meeting decided to acquire 64 kanals of land adjacent to Punjab Forensic Science Agency at Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore for accommodating the phase-II of Punjab Drug Testing Laboratory. It was decided to upgrade Punjab Food Laboratory, pesticide laboratories and fertiliser laboratories into Provincial Fertiliser Reference Lab and Provincial Pesticides Reference Lab with a total expenditure of Rs 530 million in a comprehensive manner.
The meeting reviewed the recruitment process for the new DG PAFDA and hiring of consultant firms of international repute to perform advisory role. The additional chief secretary informed the meeting that the Punjab Public Service Commission has already selected 41 assistant research officers and six assistant chemists in BPS-17 for DTL and Pesticides Testing Laboratories. These newly selected scientists will be given a fair amount of additional technical allowance also.
A total of 77 grade-17 posts have been approved by the Punjab chief minister under SNE for this project. The chief minister has allocated Rs 1 billion for the uplift of the institutions meant to eradicate adulteration in food items of daily use, as well as in life saving drugs, pesticides and chemical fertilisers.
There will be an automated regime at the drug testing laboratory and PAFDA, which will be brought at par with the international standards, Shamail Ahmad Khawaja informed the meeting. Secretary Agriculture Sheharyar Sultan, Additional Secretary (Technical) Secondary Health & Medical Education Dr Salman Shahid, Additional Secretary Law Mohsin Abbas Syed, Members Planning & Development Board Punjab Dr Shabana Haider and Agha Waqar Javed, Director General Forensic Sciences Agency Dr Muhammad Ashraf Tahir, Director General Punjab Food Authority Sajid Mahmood Chauhan, Additional Secretary Finance Mehmood Latif and Additional Secretary Welfare Mudasar Riaz Malik attended the meeting.
