Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has handed over allotment letters to the 84 affectees of Block-B of Journalist Colony Lahore.
A ceremony was organised at CM office on Sunday for the purpose in which 17 years old issue was resolved by allotting substantial plots to the affectees of Journalist Colony.
Addressing the ceremony, the CM said that during first phase such affectees have been given plots and the other affectees of Block-B would be allotted plots on the land available in the Journalist Colony in the next phase. He promised to give plot to each affectees of Block-B, saying that such affectees whose plots were clear could now build their houses.
The chief minister asserted that there was no scope of any land-grabber mafia in the Journalist Colony. A police picket would be built in the Journalist Colony and possession of F-Block plots had also been given, he announced.
CM apprised that approval for phase-II of Journalist Colony had also been accorded and other journalists could also build their houses. The phase-II members were not only granted 700 kanal land but development work was going to be launched on it soon. He informed that directions were issued to Ravi Urban Department Authority (RUDA) and Lahore Development Authority (LDA) for phase-II construction. All journalists would be given 5,5 marla plots each in phase-II, he informed.
Sick and disabled journalists not having membership of press club would also be given plots, he said and announced to grant 150 percent Special Allowance to the officers and staff members of Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) along with granting two months salary as honorarium to the officials of Punjab Journalists Housing Foundation.
On the occasion, Lahore Press Club (LPC) President Azam Chaudhry thanked the CM for granting approval
of F-block, B-block, Phase-II, restoring annual grant along with the payment of insurance premium by the Punjab government.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Capt (retd) Asad Ullah Khan, Secretary Information Asif Bilal Lodhi, Press Secretary to CM Iqbal Chaudhry, DGPR Rao Parvez Akhtar, ADGPR Rubina Zahid and others participated in the ceremony.
LPC President Azam Chaudhry, Secretary General PFUJ Rana Muhammad Azeem, Shahbaz Mian, affectees of B-block, Senior Journalist Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Khalida Yousaf and others were also participated in the ceremony.
CM also distributed shields among the officers and staff members of Punjab Journalists Housing Foundation.
