Shehbaz For Dedication To Complete Uplift Projects Speedily

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Nov, 2016 ) : Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said there was a need to work with commitment and determination for speedy completion of public welfare projects so that people could benefit from them at the earliest.

Addressing officers, engineers and staff of Punjab Saaf Pani Company and engineering, management and consultant companies here, he said Khadim-e-Punjab Saaf Pani programme would have to be run on modern lines and every effort would have to be made for its early completion.

The Chief Minister said water was a sign of life and played a key role in the setting up of a healthy society but it was lamentable that former governments paid no attention to this important matter due to which no progress was made on this project.

He said though schemes worth billions of rupees were evolved but they were not activated. He said former governments and departments did not fulfill their responsibilities due to which majority of population was still deprived of potable water.

He said due to this inefficiency and negligence, supply of drinking water had become a challenge. Shehbaz Sharif said low-income segments of society and people living in villages and remote areas were still deprived of potable water, which was highly lamentable.

He said people fell victim to diseases due to non-availability of clean water, therefore, the Punjab government of Pakistan Muslim League-N had evolved a mega project for supply of clean water to save people from hepatitis and other diseases caused by contaminated water.

He said low capacity and lack of determination of departments concerned were the causes due to which Saaf Paani programme could not be implemented expeditiously. The Chief Minister said provision of potable water to people was the responsibility of the government and contaminated water was not the destiny of the children of the nation.

He said billions of rupees had been allocated for Khadim-e-Punjab Saaf Pani programme so that clean water could be made available to the citizens, adding polluted and dirty water was the cause of a number of viral diseases including hepatitis.

He said the Punjab government was paying full attention to this important issue and a comprehensive programme worth billions of rupees had been evolved for providing clean water to the people of the province.

Shehbaz Sharif said the best companies of the world were being selected in a transparent manner for the implementation of the project so that it should be of international standard and people could be provided potable water on permanent basis.

He said, "Provision of basic facilities to the people is the responsibility of the government and he besides being Khadim-e-Punjab is also answerable to Allah Almighty." He said Khadim-e-Punjab Saaf Pani project was an important step towards provision of hygienic water to the masses and more than seven thousand sites had been identified for Saaf Paani programme.

Shehbaz Sharif said the role of engineering, management and consultant companies (EMCs) was of vital importance with regard to supervisory role and training of EMCs staff on modern lines was essential for this purpose.

The Chief Minister stressed upon the staff present in the ceremony to work as a team for the success of this programme. He said Saaf Pani Programme was concerned with human lives and there was no room for negligence or laxity in its implementation.

The staff of Saaf Paani Company and engineering, management and consultant companies assured the Chief Minister that they would spare no effort for the speedy completion of this important project of international standard and perform their duties with commitment and diligence for coming up to the expectations.

Provincial Minister for Housing Tanvir Aslam Malik, Chairman Saaf Pani Company South Muhammad Kashif, MPA, Chairman Planning & Development, Chief Executive Officer Punjab Saaf Pani Company South and senior authorities were present on the occasion. APP/maa/zqr/ati � 20:39/21:22/21:22