Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar laid the foundation stone of Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority’s first project worth Rs 161 million in Chak Jhumra near Faisalabad on Monday.
More than 57,000 people from 16 under-developed villages will have access to safe drinking water on a daily basis once the project is completed. “I came back to Pakistan in 2013 from UK to serve my country and today is the most memorable day of my life as my dream of providing clean drinking water to my people came true through this project,” said Governor Punjab, after inaugurating the project on Monday.
“If I find out that any person of Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority has taken or given commission and bribe, he will be punished,” Governor said. Addressing the ceremony, Governor Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar said that by the grace of Allah Almighty, he was going to fulfill his commitment of providing clean drinking water which was his life-long dream. “I also thank Prime Minister Imran Khan for giving me the responsibility of provision of potable water to people of Punjab,” he added. He also thanked Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Bazdar, Minister for Housing Mian Mahmood-ur-Rasheed, Minister for Law Raja Muhammad Basharat, Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and all members of the Punjab Assembly who played an important role in getting the legislation regarding Aab-e-Pak Authority passed. Governor Punjab said that we have laid the foundation stone of this project which started at a cost of more than Rs. 161 million but we still need to work hard and every single member of Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority will have to play his role with utmost honesty. He said that had some people in the bureaucracy of Punjab not created hurdles, the project would have started a year and a half ago. “If I am responsible for the provision of clean drinking water to the people of Punjab, then it is my responsibility to tell the people about whatever hinders it,” he added.
Ch Sarwar, who is also the Patron-in-Chief of Aab-e-Pak Authority, said that billions of rupees were spent on providing clean drinking water to the people during the tenure of Pervez Musharraf and other governments, including PML-N, but not a single filtration plant is functional today. The Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority will also have billions of rupees in funds but I assure the nation that I will not allow anyone to take or give commission in any project. He said that every penny of the people would be protected in Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority and all the information about every project would be available on website to ensure complete transparency. He maintained that Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority would be made such an organization that no successive government would be able to end this historic project. “I came to know that one filtration plant is being established by the Punjab government with the cost of 15 million when I became Governor for the very first time. Contrary to it, my own foundation was establishing one plant with the cost of 1.5 million only. Billions of rupees were spent on different water schemes in the past but 90 percent plants are now dysfunctional,” Governor Punjab said. Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar further said that Filtration plants will not only be installed in the constituencies of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf parliamentarians, but also in constituencies where the opposition parties have won.
The inauguration of the plant was performed by a 90 years old woman Nooran Bibi of the village. “We were getting contaminated water for decades and our family members are diagnosed with water-related diseases including hepatitis. It is historic day for our village that we are now getting clean drinking water,” 90 years old Nooran said, a resident of Pakka Dhalla Village at Chak Jhumra near Faisalabad. Her village has a population of 4500.
Provincial Ministers Ajmal Cheema, Khayal Ahmad Castro, MNA Chaudhry Asim Nazir (NA-101), Members of National and Provincial Assemblies, Chief Executive Officer Punjab Aab Pak Authority Zahid Aziz, Chairman Punjab Aab Pak Authority Dr Shakeel and others were also present on the occasion.