Daily Times

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz on Saturday gave principle approval to impose ban on holding rallies in the Greater Iqbal Park.

Chairing a meeting here, he said that usage of this historic park for holding public rallies was inappropriate from any aspect. The chief minister refused the proposal to enforce entry fee in the Greater Iqbal Park, saying that this was park of the poor and he would not enforce entry fee under any circumstance.

Hamza Shahbaz expressed his anger for not timely buying seeds of the plants in the previous tenure of government and ordered to hold an inquiry in this regard. He directed to expedite the planting of trees, plants, and grass on the empty spaces, adding that the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) board be constituted at the earliest.

The CM directed to immediately call back the gardeners working at homes and if there was any gardener working in his house then he should also be called back. He said that zero-tolerance policy should be adopted in this regard. Hamza Shahbaz directed the authorities concerned to devise a comprehensive plan for planting sapling, plants, and trees on empty lands in South Punjab.

He said that Butterfly House in Jallo Botanical Park should be made functional soon. He said that transparency would be ensured at PHA matters and he would fully support the department. He directed to make WhatsApp group and progress should be updated regarding the decisions being made in the group.

The CM was informed during the meeting that plants and grass were destroyed during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally in the Greater Iqbal Park and the park suffered approximately Rs. 5 million loss due to holding of that rally.

Ahmad Hassan, Iftikhar Ahmad, Secretary Housing, Commissioner Lahore Division, Col. (R) Mubashir Javed, Imran Goraya, and PHA Director General attended the meeting.