South Punjab to have its own secretariat soon

LAHORE: People living in South Punjab will not have to go to Lahore for redressal of their grievances as southern Punjab secretariat will start operating from the next fiscal year, said Punjab Research and Development Chairman Habibur Rehman Gillani. He was speaking at the agreement signing ceremony on Monday. The Punjab government and its development partner, National Rural Support Program (NRSP), have jointly agreed to launch some projects that would be started soon in South Punjab. Gillani said that southern Punjab and under developed areas in the province have been given priority by the present government. The government has focused on the development of backward
areas while practical steps have also been taken for the development of Southern Punjab, he added. Focusing on Southern Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project (SPPAP), he reiterated that the government had launched the Southern Punjab Poverty Alleviation Project at the total cost of Rs4.657 billion with the financial assistance of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) during 2011-12 in four districts of South Punjab Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh, and Rajanpur. The objective of the project was to increase the incomes of 80,000 households by enhancing their employment potential and increasing agricultural productivity and production.