Daily Times

Finance Minister Punjab Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht Friday said that the objectivity of the establishment of the South Punjab Secretariat was to improve service delivery by improving administrative matters in the region.

Unless government departments pay special attention to the performance of their general duties, the purpose of establishing a separate Secretariat will not be achieved, he observed chairing the sixth meeting of the ministerial committee of the South Punjab here on Friday.

The meeting was attended by Provincial Minister for Irrigation Mohsin Leghari, Provincial Minister for Energy Malik Akhtar and Provincial Minister for Agriculture Hussain Jahanian Gardezi, Provincial Minister for Livestock Hasnain Bahadur Dareshk, Provincial Minister for Transport Jahanzeb Kachchi, Chief Secretary Punjab, Additional Secretary South Punjab and heads of all concerned departments participated.

The purpose of the meeting was to review the progress of the newly amended Rules of Business for the South Punjab Secretariat and the establishment of offices in Multan and Bahawalpur.

The minister asked to explain the difference between the powers of the Chief Secretary Punjab and the Additional Chief Secretary Punjab in the Rules of the Business. In addition, it is important to clarify in the rules of business that the additional powers given to the Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab over the Additional Chief Secretary Punjab.

The operational and functional powers of all the departments should be explained separately. With the transfer of departments, the process of amending the Rules of Business will continue till the completion of the Secretariat.

The meeting unanimously agreed to ensure the provision of offices in government buildings at the earliest for the strengthening of the South Punjab Secretariat. For this purpose, suggestions were made to use Islamia University in Bahawalpur for the Secretariat and construction of the Metro Bus Authority building in Multan.

The finance minister requested the provincial ministers that the next two meetings of the committee would be held in Multan and Bahawalpur.

It was also decided that permission would be sought from Governor Punjab for setting up a South Punjab Secretariat at Bahawalpur Islamia University. The provincial minister said that the establishment of the secretariat would prove to be an important step towards South Punjab province.

The Punjab Finance Minister also appreciated the special efforts of the provincial minister Mohsin Leghari and the Chief Secretary Punjab in preparing the required amendments in the existing Rules of Business of the government of Punjab for the creation of the South Punjab Secretariat.

Earlier, The Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab informed the meeting about the Rules of Business of the Punjab government for the South Punjab Secretariat. Giving a detailed briefing on the proposed amendments in Rule of Business 2011, he said that in the Rules of Business, South Punjab means three divisions namely Multan, Bahawalpur, and Dera Ghazi Khan. The Rules of Business define the powers of the Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab. All the departments under the South Punjab Secretariat will perform their duties under their Rules of Business. The Chief Minister will have the power to assign responsibilities to various departments through notification.

The Additional Chief Secretary informed the meeting that 30 acres of government land has been transferred by the Board of Revenue for the construction of the Bahawalpur Secretariat building. The services of the Punjab Infrastructure Authority are being taken for the construction of the Secretariat.

Taking a close look at the proposed Rules of Business for the South Punjab Secretariat, Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht directed the Additional Chief Secretary to clarify in the Rules of Business the responsibilities of appointments and transfers to the heads of departments as well as other responsibilities.