Rural roads will improve living standards: CM

Shahbaz Shairf favours steps to check overloading

LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Friday the Rural Roads Programme would help promote rural economy and that there was need for collective efforts to make it a success.

He was addressing a meeting at Civil Secretariat through video link.

The chief minister said Rs150 billion would be spent over three years on the construction and rehabilitation of rural roads. He said the government was committed to completing the project by 2017-18. He said improved roads would facilitate transportation of famers’ produce to markets. The meeting decided that in the next phase, the roads would be widened to up to 16 feet.

Sharif said that after the construction and rehabilitation of roads, their maintenance was also necessary. He ordered that an effective road management mechanism be introduced to check overloading.

The chief minister was assured that good quality materials would be used for the construction. He issued instructions for planting saplings along new roads. “New roads will help improve the villagers’ living standards.”

Earlier, the communication and works secretary briefied the meeting regarding progress on the project. Provincial Ministers Tanvir Aslam Malik, Malik Nadeem Kamran and Farrukh Javed; Senator Saud Majeed and the Planning and Development Board chairman attended the meeting.

Skill development

The Britain is an important trade partner of Pakistan, the chief minister said during a meeting with British Minister of State for International Development Desmond Angus Swayne who called on him on Friday. They discussed matters related to education, health and skill development.

Sharif said various programmes in education, health and skill development sectors were in progress in the Punjab with the cooperation of the Department for International Development (DFID). He said the government wanted to further extend the cooperation, particularly for the skill development schemes. He said the government had taken several steps to empower the youth. He said that besides taking steps to enhance enrolment at schools, attention was being paid to teachers’ training. He said a programme to improve public health facilities with help from the DFID was yielding positive results.

The chief minister said the Punjab Skill Development Company had trained thousands of youths across the province with the DFID’s cooperation. He urged the DFID to extend more cooperation for producing skilled manpower.

Sharif said the government had set itself a target to train two million youths in various skills over the next three years. He said the government had taken effective steps to protect women’s rights. He said special centres were being set up to provide help to women subjected to violence. He said a Women Development Endowment Fund was being established.

The chief minister said thousands talented students had been given admissions at higher educations institutions through the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund.

DFID head in Pakistan Sir Richard Montgomery and DFID representative in the Punjab Ben French were also present on the occasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2015.