LAHORE: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed the district administrations to retrieve the government-owned rest houses being illegally occupied by land grabbers in their respective jurisdictions, open these places for the public and take strict action against ‘qabza mafia’, seeking retrieval reports at the earliest.

On the orders of Mr Buzdar, so far 177 government rest houses have been opened for the public, which were earlier meant only for the respective departments officers’ stay.

“Any citizen travelling in Punjab can avail facility at the designated rest houses of various government departments at Rs1,500 to Rs3,000 per night.

The chief minister on Saturday tweeted that 177 rest houses, which were under the personal use of respective departments’ officers, had been opened for the public across the province. He stated the rest houses would fetch huge money that would not only spent on the refurbishment and upkeep of these establishments, but also on the community development in adjacent areas.

The rest houses so far opened for the public include 41 of forest, wildlife and fisheries department, 17 of agriculture department and 90 of irrigation department. Similarly, 10 guest houses of communication and works (C&W), 15 of local government, and four of livestock and dairy developments were also opened.

The details of the rest houses opened for the public have been uploaded on the websites of the respective departments, as well as that of the Tourism Development Corporation Punjab.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2019