Says opponents can’t raise finger over projects;
MPAs praise CM for south Punjab uplift
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said funds to the tune of billions of rupees have been earmarked in the financial year 2017-18 for the development and prosperity of people living in southern Punjab districts.
The chief minister said the Punjab government has promoted the culture of transparency, patronised merit and honesty and even our opponents can’t raise an accusing finger over development projects.
The ratio of funds for southern Punjab is much larger as compared to the population living there. The people of southern Punjab are very close to my heart and no shortage of funds will ever hinder the process of public welfare there. He also announced the Safe City Project for Multan as well as establishment of Daanish School in Lodhran and said the Safe City Project will also be started in Bahawalpur.
Similarly, Speedo Buses will ply in major districts of the southern Punjab. It is heartening that a mega programme of provision of clean drinking water is going to start from the southern Punjab and it has been planned to award contracts of this programme costing Rs25 billion this year.
The clean drinking water project will commence from all the tehsils of southern Punjab and this very initiative will help eradicate water-borne diseases. He said this programme will be gradually completed by the start of 2018. Meanwhile, the PML-N government has made historic investment of improving law & order and billions of rupees investment made in different sectors including education, healthcare and transport has wholly benefited the common man.
The chief minister expressed these views while chairing a meeting of members of the assembly from Multan Division on Friday. During the meeting, detailed discussion was held on different topics including budget proposals, development programmes, public welfare projects and development plans for southern Punjab districts.
While talking to the assembly members, the chief minister said Rs3 billion worth metro bus project has been providing excellent services to the people of Multan. He said the first engineering university will be completed by the end of this year in Rahim Yar Khan; while management of Multan Kidney Hospital will be taken over by the Indus Trust in June.
Meanwhile, an increase of 250-beds is being made in the Government Recep Tayyip Erdogan Hospital. On the other hand, the Khanewal-Lodhran Road Project has been started with an amount of Rs22 billion and Muzaffargarh-DG Khan Dual Carriageway will be made during the current year with an expenditure of Rs 17 billion.
The chief minister directed to establish the Safari Park in Multan, adding that historic Nishtar Medical College has been given the status of a medical university in addition to setting up sub-campuses of the Nawaz Sharif Agriculture University in Khanewal.
The assembly members paid rich tributes to the chief minister for taking steps for the development and prosperity of southern Punjab. They termed the chief minister a benefactor of southern Punjab and said the steps taken for public welfare in southern Punjab districts have no resemblance in the past. They said the people of southern Punjab love the chief minister from the core of their hearts as performance of Shahbaz has become a glowing example for the whole of the country.
