66 cities of Punjab to be uplifted in new financial year
Under this programme, all dirt roads will be paved or repaired, along with the construction and repair of connection roads, and a comprehensive sewage system will be introduced. Moreover, disposal stations will be solarised while sewerage problems will be solved by keeping in mind the needs of the population in 2050. In addition to rainwater drainage, storage tanks will also be built, and restoration of parks will also be included in the project. In this connection, the copies of PC-1 have been sent to the relevant municipal bodies.
In this regard, Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq issued instructions while chairing a meeting through a video link on Thursday. Punjab Local Government Secretary Shakeel Ahmed Mian, Additional Secretary Ahmar Kaifi, PMDFC MD and Deputy Commissioners of various districts participated.
The Minister directed the concerned deputy commissioners to keep the model of the Lahore Development Programme in mind while working on the development schemes. He clarified that there will be no additional recruitment for the Cities Development Programme except for technical experts, and thus, only the available human resources will be utilised. 'The Punjab Local Government Department will complete this mega project in collaboration with Public Health Engineering,' he added.
Rafiq said that in the next phase, 110 more cities will be included in the programme; in every city, all dirt roads will be paved or repaired, along with the construction and repair of connection roads, and a comprehensive sewage system will be introduced. 'In this connection, the copies of PC-1 have been sent to the relevant municipal bodies,' he added.
He said the deputy commissioners have also been made members of the steering committee. He observed that in the past, only partial schemes were completed in cities; however, for the first time, an end-to-end solution for sanitation will be provided. He directed that transparency should be taken care of while implementing the project on the timeline.
On this occasion, the Secretary said that e-tendering and digital payment methods should be implemented in the programme. He directed that before the construction of the streets, sui gas, electricity companies and cable network institutions should complete their work. 'After the completion of the work,' he warned, 'digging will be prohibited without the NOC of the district administration.' He said the use of safe and durable sewer pipes is the highlight of this program, adding that the benefits of HTP-lined sewer pipes will last for the next 100 years.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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