Daily Times

A review meeting on Punjab Government’s Annual Development Plan (ADP) 2021-22, chaired by the Chairman P&D Board Mr. Abdullah Khan Sumbal was held at the Planning and Development Department, Lahore. The meeting focused on reviewing Punjab’s Development profile and in particular the status of ADP 2021-22 in perspective of the allocated budget, releases and utilization.

Chairman P&D urged the Departments to continue with focused efforts in their sectors to ensure proper utilization of public funds. Secretary P&D, Mr. Imran Sikandar Baloch, briefed that against 4,688 un-approved schemes at the beginning of the Financial Year, 4,126 schemes had been approved (92%) The budget allocated for ADP was Rs. 560 billion where releases at the spending level stood at Rs. 118 billion. It was also briefed that Rs.153 billion has been released by Finance Department. Division and department-wise Approval statuses of schemes were also discussed in detail.

The Chair was briefed that as instructed by Chief Secretary Punjab in last review, all Administrative Departments & Finance Department need to ensure immediate placement of released funds at the spending level after removing all impediments. It was also instructed by Chairman P&D Board that slow placement of funds at the spending level and utilization of Funds must be accelerated. To ensure fast track implementation of ADP 2021-22, the Guidelines and timeliness notified by the CM Punjab should be followed in letter and spirit.

For the implementation of the above cited guidelines, robust quality control mechanism needs to be put in place by the Administrative Departments to ensure quality work as desired by the vision of Chief Minister Punjab. The bottlenecks hindering implementation of ADP must be highlighted in precise terms and indicated to the P&D Board or the concerned quarters for redress. Chairman P&D Board Mr. Abdullah Khan Sumbal added that the Punjab Government, following the vision of Chief Minister Punjab, is working assiduously to ensure that the utilization is result-oriented. The timeline has been indicated by Chief Minister must be followed. Development received at all levels must be conducted consistently by all concerned Secretaries, says Mr. Abdullah Khan Sumbal Chairman P&D Board.

The meeting was attended by Administrative Secretaries, Members of the P&D Board and other Senior Officers of concerned Departments.