Developments in different areas have shown that Punjab is certainly heading towards progress and development
LAHORE: Has Punjab finally set sail towards a bright future? Some recent developments in different areas have shown that Punjab is certainly heading towards progress and development. By realising the need to adopt a few measures and introduce some special initiatives, the Punjab government has really shown a very serious attitude in ensuring the betterment of its people. To recognise women as equal citizens and give them their due rights, the government recently passed the Women’s Rights Bill to control violence against women. To provide timely emergency response and care, the government established divisional urban search and rescue teams. To curb street crimes in the provincial capital and to provide a sense of security to the general public, the government established an agile and modern police patrol named the Dolphin Force.
To reframe the needs and concerns of persons with disabilities (PWDs), the government increased the disabled quota for employment from two per cent to three per cent in provincial government departments and district governments in Punjab. To reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalised people in the province and help them alleviate their difficult socio-economic circumstances, the government launched the Khidmat Card Programme for providing interest-free loans, free technical training, rehabilitation and welfare and financial assistance to disabled persons in the province. To provide healthcare facilities to the general public, the government launched the Punjab Health Insurance Cards programme. Moreover, the establishment of Mobile Health Units, formation of the Punjab Health Care Commission and initiation of the Hepatitis Control Programme are also ample proof of the government’s firm resolve to improve healthcare delivery in the province.
To meet the energy needs of the country and especially those of Punjab, the government is leaving no stone unturned to foster fast track development of electricity generation projects and is paying special attention to the basic prerequisite of development; in other words, power generation in the province. Projects like the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, the Sahiwal Coal Fired Power Plant and the Bhikki Gas Turbine Power Plant undertaken by the government show the government’s firm resolve to put the economy on the right track through resolving the energy crisis in the country.
Syed Ali Qasim
Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2016.
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