Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar presided over a meeting at his office on Thursday, in which future model of cleanliness for Lahore as well as different matters pertaining to Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) came under discussion.
The meeting decided to increase the organisational capacity of LWMC for improving cleanliness system of the provincial metropolis. The chief minister directed that required steps should be taken to improve the capacity of LWMC along with improving its financial management. Similarly, unnecessary expenditures should be curtailed and performance should be improved. Lahore should be divided into different zones and work should be immediately started to further improve the cleanliness system. The solid waste management system should be better than the past after the culmination of the contract with the foreign company, he said. The LWMC and other line departments should be fully prepared in the wake of the emerging scenario. No complaint should arise with regard to cleanliness, the CM said.
Buzdar directed that professionals should be included in the LWMC board and it should move forward as a vibrant and active entity. Steps relating to the cleanliness of the city should be adopted under rules and regulations and inquiries will be held where discrepancies and irregularities have taken place, he said. The nation’s money will not be allowed to be wasted and the company has to deliver at any cost, he asserted. The CM was briefed that the city’s cleanliness agreement with the foreign company will be ended next year and the LWMC board has given approval to the appointment of a transaction advisor. The local government secretary gave a briefing about the new cleanliness model of the city. Provincial Ministers Raja Basharat, Mian Aslam Iqbal, Hashim Jawan Bakht, Advisor Dr Salman Shah, Local Government Secretaries, Planning and Development, Finance and Law Departments, the Lahore division commissioner and others attended the meeting.
Punjab government dispatches relief goods to Mirpur: On the directions of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, nine trucks carrying relief goods including food hampers and tents have reached Mirpur. Helping the earthquake affectees is our responsibility, Buzdar said in a statement in this regard, adding that the Punjab government will extend full support in the treatment of injured persons. Such injured persons, who could not be treated in Mirpur, will be shifted to Punjab hospitals for the best treatment. Instructions have been issued to the provincial administration for helping the affectees and resources of the Punjab government are available for them. Punjab government will extend full support in early rehabilitation of the earthquake affectees, he added.
CM message on world tourism day: A new tourism policy has been formulated and the tourism sector has been given the status of an industry, Punjab Chief Minster Sardar Usman Buzdar said. In a message on the World Tourism Day, he said that betterment of tourist-spots was ignored in the past but tourism sector is a part of the priorities of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government. Pakistan is full of tourist-spots and effective measures have been adopted to provide the best facilities to tourists along with improving the tourist-spots, he said. The tourism sector in Pakistan has a wide scope and the number of international tourists has increased due to the improvement in the law and order situation in the country. The positive face of Pakistan will be projected before the world by promoting tourism, the CM said. The Punjab government is working to facilitate the tourists and use of government buildings, having historical attraction, has started. 177 rest houses have been opened for public in Punjab and new tourist-spots were being developed in the province which would create new earning opportunities for the local population, he concluded.