LAHORE: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, presiding over a high-level meeting at the Chief Minister Office here on Monday, said that the Water and Sanitation Authority (Wasa) will be made an independent authority.

During the meeting, proposals regarding performance of Housing and Urban Development Department as well as providing better and improved facilities to the citizens were reviewed.

Mr Buzdar said that Housing and Urban Development Department will be harmonized with modern requirements because its role was pivotal with regard to providing better facilities in the cities, he added. The department will have to focus on modern urban planning and development.

He also directed to put up final plan in this regard. After reviewing matters of commercialisation in residential areas, concrete recommendations should be submitted, he directed. A committee has been constituted to review DC rates of property.

The committee will submit its final recommendations within 15 days under the supervision of the provincial finance minister. The Aab Pak Authority has been constituted in order to provide clean water to the people of Punjab, he added.

A proposal was also submitted during the meeting to transfer the assets and other related matters of the Saaf Pani Company of the previous tenure to the Aab Pak Authority. Mr Buzdar said that clean water was the basic right of every citizen and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government would leave no stone unturned regarding ensuring provision of clean water to the citizens, he stressed. The water quality of water plants will be improved.

He said they will have to move ahead by learning a lesson from past mistakes, adding that by performing matters according to rules and regulations and in a transparent manner, provision of clean water was to be ensured to the citizens. He said that a mega programme was going to be launched in order to improve sewerage system in Lahore. Programme for bringing improvement in sewerage system through Tunnel boring will cost Rs14 billion.

He was also informed during the briefing that the office of Aab Pak Authority will not be set up in a rented building but in some official building. The housing and urban development secretary gave a detailed briefing to the chief minister regarding the performance of the department and providing better civic facilities to the citizens.

Provincial Minister Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, Hashim Jawan Bakht, Adviser to the chief minister Dr Salman Shah, the chief secretary, MNA Khuram Shehzad, principal secretary to the chief minister, head of the Special Monitoring Unit, secretaries and other high officials participated in the meeting.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2019