Village Panchayat polls in March likely: Punjab CM Usman Buzdar

LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Monday presided over provincial parliamentary party meeting in which provincial ministers and MPAs of PTI and PML-Q were present.

The meeting finalised its strategy with regard to ongoing Punjab Assembly session. Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that Village Panchayat elections were expected in the month of March and the LG department was making necessary arrangements.

The Village Panchayat elections will be held on a non-party basis while the local governments’ elections will be held on a party basis in the next phase. The chief minister announced that overhead bridges would be constructed at different places of the provincial metropolis. Similarly, different roads will be repaired in Lahore at cost of Rs1 billion. Usman Buzdar added that comprehensive jail reforms had also been introduced by the PTI government and announced that parole rules were being changed to facilitate 5,000 prisoners. “For the first time in the history of the province, I have used the authority of the chief minister to remit prisoners’ sentences and 1,000 prisoners have also been got released by paying their fines,” added Usman Buzdar. He said that motorbike ambulance service was being extended to other districts of the province and Rescue-1122 employees’ allowance had also been increased.

The chief minister reiterated that effective measures had been adopted to control price hike and announced that the scope of model bazaars would be extended to the level of tehsils. Farmers’ platform has been introduced in model bazaars to facilitate the growers to sell their produce directly, he said. Indiscriminate action will be continued against hoarders and profiteers and you have to play an active role to check price hike. He said that line departments had been activated to overcome smog.

He said that scope of the Walled City of Lahore Authority was being extended to the whole of the province. The operation against encroachments will be continued and assembly members should identify encroachments in their areas for immediate action, he added. He said that 5,000 college teaching interns had been recruited and nine mega hospitals were being constructed and 9,000 beds will be increased.

The distribution of Sehat Insaf Cards has been completed in 34 districts and its distribution will be completed in rest of the backward districts by the end of this month. The first phase of repair and maintenance of rural roads would be completed by December under Naya Pakistan Manzaleen Aasan programme and 1,200km long roads would be constructed from January to June next year.