LAHORE, Jan 20: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif directed authorities to carry out extensive beautification of entry and exit points of cities, including cleanliness beneath overhead bridges, development of green belts and creation of play areas.
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Presiding over a special meeting, the chief minister ordered decoration of overhead bridges and underpasses and directed that all projects under the Punjab Development Plan (PDP) be geo-tagged to ensure transparency and effective monitoring. She also sought a comprehensive plan to establish washrooms on provincial highways for the convenience of travellers.
CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif instructed that roads must be fully reconstructed and restored after excavation for sewerage and drainage projects. She further directed the establishment of control rooms and management cells in all deputy commissioner offices to monitor PDP projects.
During the briefing, it was informed that transparency measures in PDP Phase-I projects had saved Rs2.8 billion. The first phase of the Lahore Development Plan had been completed successfully, while work on the second phase is under way. Under the Punjab Development Plan, development projects worth Rs234 billion are currently in progress across seven cities.
The chief minister said sewerage, disposal, drainage and water storage tank projects would be undertaken in Sargodha, Dera Ghazi Khan, Gujrat and Jhang, while trunk sewerage, new disposal stations and drainage systems for rainwater would be developed in Jhelum, Hafizabad and Okara. She was informed that 526 machinery units would be provided for sewerage and drainage systems under the plan, while Phase-II would cover eight additional cities.
CM Maryam Nawaz stressed that pits dug for development projects in streets and neighbourhoods must be properly covered and fenced. She directed that manhole levels should not protrude even by a millimetre to prevent accidents. She also ordered uniform quality standards across Punjab, including the use of similar design and colour tiles on footpaths and along roads.
She directed the development of green belts and green spaces in every city and said a single utility corridor should be created under development projects to avoid repeated excavation of entire neighbourhoods. Electricity poles, she said, should be installed at the far edges of roads, while overhead wires and cables must be neatly organised after beautification, with no tangled wiring visible.
The chief minister ordered installation of streetlights in tehsils and said new, uniform manhole covers made of plastic-like material were being introduced. She also directed that yellow and black stones be used along footpath edges instead of paint.
“Our government fully understands public needs and is committed to improving the environment,” CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif said, adding that open-air gyms, walking tracks and entertainment centres should be developed in various areas. She also directed that benches be installed in open spaces along with small food courts.
She further ordered an audit of fire safety systems in both public and private buildings. Deputy commissioners of Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bhakkar, Vehari, Wazirabad, Sheikhupura and Kasur briefed the meeting on the progress of PDP projects.
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