LAHORE: Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman, on Wednesday, directed all deputy commissioners to accelerate the ongoing operation against encroachments in the province.
He issued this directive while presiding over a video-link meeting with all deputy commissioners at the Civil Secretariat. The meeting reviewed the anti-encroachment operation, price control measures, the Suthra Punjab programme, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
The chief secretary expressed his displeasure over the presence of encroachments in the Dinga area and sought a report from the commissioner of Gujranwala division. He emphasised that traffic police and municipal staff must be permanently assigned duties in bazaars to address the issue of encroachments, adding that a clear difference in governance improvement should be visible. The chief secretary reiterated that a policy of zero tolerance has been adopted against corruption and urged administrative officers to take stern action against government employees involved in corruption. He noted that the elimination of corruption in government institutions would provide relief to the common man. He also directed that the shortage of machinery be resolved at the earliest to ensure the success of the Suthra Punjab programme.
The chief secretary emphasised that ensuring the availability of food items at fixed prices is the responsibility of deputy commissioners, and instructed that the implementation of fixed price of roti must be 100 percent ensured. He also issued orders for effective measures to stabilise the price of chicken.
The meeting was attended by administrative secretaries of relevant departments, including local government and price control, as well as other officers concerned. All divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated via a video link.