Daily Times

Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab, Capt. (R) Saqib Zafar, said that the South Punjab Secretariat has put the region on a new path of development.

He expressed these views while talking to a delegation of 36 officers of under training Pakistan Administrative Service at the Civil Service Academy who called at his office here on Tuesday. Secretary Agriculture South Punjab Saqib Ali Ateel, Secretary Services South Punjab Amjad Shoaib Khan Tareen and Deputy Director Civil Service Academy Rehmat Wali Khan were also present in the meeting.

He further said that now not even a single penny could be transferred from development funds allocated in the budget out of South Punjab. Likewise, an integrated mechanism has been developed for the timely resolution of public grievances. He said secretariat office system has been digitized and e-filing system been introduced for official correspondence. The under construction Secretariat will also be a reflection of corporate culture. ACS said that South Punjab plays a key role in the agricultural production of the country.

He said that cotton cultivation has been done on record land in South Punjab and it is expected that better cotton yield will prove to be the ladder of economic development of the country. He said that government was making plans for dairy development and corporate farming.

The food security needs could be met by turning the desert of Cholistan and Thal of the region into green fields. Mr Saqib said that a pilot project of artificial rain system for irrigation purpose was being launched in Cholistan and in the first phase, a target of making 6 million acres land cultivable has been set.

He said that the service delivery of the subordinate departments was improving and attendance of doctors and paramedical staff being ensured in rural health centers due to the monitoring of the administrative secretaries. He said that according to the results of recent matriculation exams, the education boards of South Punjab were at the top in the entire province. Similarly, South Punjab is leading in the enrollment campaign in schools,he added.

He said that Sobh-e- Nau and transgender schools were proud initiatives of the School Education department while UNICEF has also praised launching of Green Book in schools regarding climate change.

Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab said the region, located at the junction of three provinces, has very importance in terms of its civilization and culture and there are immense opportunities to promote tourism. On this occasion, ACS gave a commemorative shield to the head of the delegation while a Souvenir of Civil Service Academy also presented to Chief Secretary South Punjab by the officers.