Cities’ growth scheme reviewed

PML-N leader says each penny of development funds will be spent judiciously

SIALKOT:

A meeting was held in Sialkot on Sunday to review the ongoing construction work of sewage, water supply and parks upgradation project under the Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Programme (PICIIP) in the city initiated by the Punjab government.

The meeting was held at the office of Deputy Commissioner Maisam Abbas.

The meeting was attended by a Member of the Provincial Assembly, Rana Abdul Sattar Khan, a former mayor, Tauheed Akhtar, and stakeholders and officers concerned.

Addressing the meeting, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) central leader Muhammad Manshaullah Butt said that according to the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz, each penny of development funds would be spent honestly in Sialkot.

He said that building departments had a national, legal and moral responsibility to ensure quality in the development projects so that projects proved to be sustainable.

He said the quality and speed of ongoing projects under PICIIP would be ensured.

Deputy Commissioner Maisam Abbas said the Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Project was a city development project, and it was essential for the stakeholders to be fully aware of the importance of the project.

He said that the responsibility of officials of the Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Programme (PICIIP) was to keep a close contact with the public representatives to ensure the timeline of the project.

The DC said that the projects should not be delayed without any reason and be completed within the stipulated period.

The Chief Engineer of PICIIP, Muhammad Akhtar Abbasi, highlighted the physical and financial progress of the work done so far under the PICIIP and said that there was no doubt that the project had been delayed, but "I hope that my team would not repeat this mistake in future".

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2022.