Chief of bureaucracy: ‘Make solving citizens’ problems your priority’

New chief secretary sits down to briefing from senior colleagues .

LAHORE:

“We can place the Punjab on a road to progress and development if we implement Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s vision for good governance and merit,” Chief Secretary Khizar Hayat Gondal said on Monday.

The newly appointed chief of bureaucracy was presiding over a high-level meeting of administrative secretaries, commissioners and DCOs at the Civil Secretariat. Gondal said that the situation in the province demanded that all officers perform their duties efficiently and take all necessary measures to eradicate terrorism.



He urged administrative secretaries to do their best to solve people’s problems. “Negligence will not be tolerated in this regard,” he said.

Gondal directed the provincial administration to facilitate the masses and solve people’s problems on priority. He was given briefings by the provincial secretaries of Home, Health, Revenue, Planning and Development, Higher Education and Industries Departments.

The home secretary said foolproof security arrangement had been made in the province to control terrorism.

He said old weapons’ licences would be cancelled and new ones would be issued. The fine for misuse of sound system would be raised from Rs25,000 to Rs100,000. He said security arrangements were being improved at all schools in the province.

The health secretary said all out measures had been taken to cope with polio. He said the virus became active between January and March. The best results would be achieved by holding polio campaigns in this period, he said.

He also commended the performance of health officials in making the anti-measles campaign a success.

The communication and works secretary said the department was overseeing repairs and reconstruction of 10,426 km long roads under the Khadim Punjab Green Road Programme. He said 73,619 km long roads would be repaired and reconstructed in various districts. Roads will be widened from 10-feet to 12-feet and all roads to be constructed in the future would be 12-feet wide.

A representative of the Revenue Department said they were hoping to increase recovery of revenue. He said action would be taken against patwaris resisting the move to computerise land records. He said the performance of patwaris and tehsildars will be regularly monitored.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2015.