Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. PHOTO: ASIM SHAHZAD/EXPRESS
LAHORE:
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Tuesday ordered dysfunctional water schemes to be rehabilitated in a month.
He was chairing a meeting convened to review progress on the Saaf Pani Project.
The chief minister said that like the Khadim-i-Punjab Rural Roads Programme, the Saaf Pani Project would help improve the villagers’ standard of life.
“Potable water is the right of every citizen. The multi-billion Saaf Pani Project should be completed in time,” Sharif said. He said that under the scheme, water filtration plants would be installed across the province. As many as 80 such plants have been installed plants in Bahawalpur. He said that after the installation of these plants, clean drinking water would be available to more than 40 million population in villages.
Sharif said several ‘Saaf Pani organisations’ had been formed to monitor the project. A dashboard has also been established for the purpose, the chief minister said.
The chief minister favoured a third-party audit to make sure that the scheme was free of financial irregularities. “I will personally monitor the pace of work on the project.”
Earlier, the Saaf Pani Company chief executive officer briefed those present about progress on the project. Housing Minister Tanvir Aslam, the Saaf Pani Company chairman, the Planning and Development Board chairman and the housing and information secretaries were also present on the occasion.
Healthcare
The chief minister chaired a meeting to review the proposed project of setting up a Blood Disease and Bone Marrow Transplant Institute in Lahore.
He said there was pressing need for such an institute in the province. He said the facility should include a nursing centre and a centre for research and training of staff. He told the meeting that the government had been spending billions of rupees to ensure the provision of healthcare across the Punjab. He said work on the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant Institute and Research Centre was ongoing.
Besides health institutions, development of human resource should also be given due importance, Sharif said.
Earlier, Tahir Shamsi from the National Institute for Blood Diseases and Bone Marrow Transplant, Karachi, briefed the meeting. Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique, King Edward Medical University Principal Faisal Masood and Children’s Hospital Medical Director Ahsan Waheed Rathore attended the meeting.
Floods
The chief minister called for the flow of water in rivers to monitored around-the-clock following the recent rains. He directed the Cabinet Committee on Flood Control to be prepared to deal with potential floods. He asked ministers and secretaries to supervise safety arrangements in all districts. He also ordered arrangements to drain rainwater in low-lying areas to be made.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2015.
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