Minister criticises performance of PHA

LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Housing and Urban Development Mian Mahmoodur Raheed on Friday expressed anger over the performance of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) in the provincial capital.

The minister said that tree plantation drive should be started immediately in Lahore. He said parks and grounds in the low-lying areas and localities should also be upgraded and maintained.

The minister said that he had received several complaints in this regard and he would take strict action against the PHA directors in case they ignored the low-lying localities. He was chairing a meeting of chairmen, director generals and other high-ups of PHAs from Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Sahiwal, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Sargodha and DG Khan.

Adviser to CM Asif Mahmood and Housing Secretary Nadeem Mahboob were also present. The minister instructed the high-ups of PHAs of the entire province to take comprehensive and affective measures to achieve the goals set for the tree plantation campaign 2020. Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed said that PHAs should concentrate on planting trees which provided shade along roads.

He directed that special focus should be laid to maintain cleanliness in parks and green belts in the cities as clean environment played an important role in healthy living. He instructed the officers to complete the arrangements for Jashn-e-Baharan and other programmes to provide healthy recreational facilities to the people.