Seeks report on transfer of PSPC’s assets to PAPA
Staff Reporter
The first meeting of the committee set up by the Governor Punjab under the chairmanship of Minister for Law and Cooperatives Punjab Raja Basharat, was held at the Civil Secretariat on Wednesday.
Chairman and CEO Punjab Aab-i-Pak Authority (PAPA), CEO Punjab Saaf Pani Company (PSPC) and officers of relevant departments briefed the Committee on the progress made so far.
Raja Basharat said that as per the directive of Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, the work should be expedited speedily as the purpose of setting up that committee was to remove obstacles.
He sought details from the Housing Department regarding the steps taken so far for the transfer of Pak Saaf Pani Company’s vehicles, assets and feasibility reports to the PAPA.
He said that the administrative department would be held responsible for the loss made to the official vehicles standing useless since long.
He said that immediate steps should be taken to implement the directives of the Public Accounts Committee in this regard.
Earlier, the law minister was told in a briefing that a total budget of Rs 4 billion was needed for the project while Rs 400 million had been released so far.
The briefing also said that in the first phase, filtration plants were being set up in the areas where ground water was not potable.
“So far, 1200 out of 1538 approved plants have been installed while the rest is being tendered on July 26,” as briefed.
Another important issue raised in the briefing was the complexity of the relevant laws, to which Raja Basharat assured that all possible cooperation would be extended to remove the legal loopholes in the PAPA Act. He said that the committee would meet every ten days to expedite the work effectively.
Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Social Welfare and Baitul Maal Syed Yawar Abbas Bukhari warned that goals of sustainable development couldn’t be achieved without control on population control.
He was addressing a consultative dialogue arranged jointly by the Economic Division and United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF) here today. MPAs, bureaucrats, academics and other stakeholders also participated.
For the first time, said the minister, the Punjab government has approved a development package for each district, making it easy to address local problems at the grassroots.
Yawar Abbas Bukhari urged that without political will the dream of sustainable development couldn’t be achieved saying that the participation of elected representatives should be enhanced.
Mr Bukhari told the participants that the SW&BM department would set up a first responders network at the village level to redress child abuse issues. He said that first responders would be trained by rescue 1122.
Family support program would also be launched for abused women and children because police and other government institutions could not play such roles as relatives of abused children could have in traumas, observed the minister.
