LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s parliamentarians on Monday expressed their annoyance at Punjab government’s “inefficiency” in delivering services to the masses, deploring a lack of development works in remote districts and tehsils and ignoring the party MNAs proposals in this regard.

The PTI MNAs and MPAs expressed their concerns at a meeting called by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar in the backdrop of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s instructions to take party lawmakers from the province in the loop.

The meeting was “unique” in the sense that chief minister had never in the last one-and-a-half-year held any formal meeting with party MNAs, except a few interactions with National Assembly legislators’ delegations at his office.

Following prime minister’s instructions, the chief minister had on Sunday announced he would take a “democratic and public welfare step” and hold consultations with the party MNAs and MPAs before giving final shape to FY 2020-21 development programmes.

As per sources privy to the meeting held at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, the PTI MNAs and MPAs from Faisalabad division took Mr Buzdar to the task, telling him that the government had completely failed in implementing the Article 25-A and Right To Education Act. They lamented absence of high or even middle schools in many areas where the children had to quit school after primary classes.

“Since Pakistan is a signatory to Sustainable Development Goals (STGs), the present education delivery system won’t take Punjab anywhere. It was also not consistent with PM Imran Khan’s vision and commitment towards human development,” an MNA told the meeting, while deploring the lack of educational facilities in his constituency.

Another party legislator was quoted as saying that corruption had increased at police station level in the province instead of decreasing.

It is learnt the PTI legislators also suggested changes in the price control mechanism with regard to essential commodities. “How a retailer can lower price of these commodities, when he himself is buying these on higher rates,” a legislator asked and suggested the government should hold meetings with the manufacturers to keep the prices low and then fix retail prices while considering transport cost and shopkeepers’ reasonable profit.

Referring to the mechanism for providing financial support to the deserving people, a legislator was quoted as saying that files of most of such cases remained stuck at deputy commissioner, commissioner and chief minister’s offices for months and those in need of help die before it reached them.

“There is a need to reform the system by ensuring that the process gets complete at the level of assistant commissioner,” the legislator suggested.

Sources told Dawn that MNA Riaz Fatyana complained that a floating bridge at River Ravi on Kamalia-Harappa road had been “stolen” thrice by the Punjab government during the last 20 years. Mr Fatyana was quoted as saying that he had got approved a floating bridge as a Rs60 million ADP scheme but the Shahbaz Sharif government in 1998 shifted it to Rajanpur on the request of his aide in the assembly. After the project was returned, Mr Sharif again shifted it to Chiniot for the benefit of his sugar mills there. “As the bridge (project) was coming back to its original location in Kamalia, the present PTI government diverted it to DG Khan, the home district of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar,” MNA Fatyana complained.

It is learnt that the chief minister did not respond to most of the legislators’ complaints and suggestions and just asked the administrative secretaries to note these down and plan action.

Chief Secretary Azam Suleman Khan was not present in the meeting. However, additional chief secretary (ACS), Punjab police inspector general and administrative secretaries attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, a chief minister’s handout says the meeting reviewed ongoing development projects and schemes pertaining to Faisalabad division, while the legislators presented proposals for public welfare projects under ADP for FY2020-21 for their respective constituencies.

The chief minister said the PTI government would resolve issues of Faisalabad division in consultation with the MNAs and MPAs concerned.

He said the government would launch new programmes worth billions of rupees for improving sewerage system, provision of clean water, improvement in hygiene, cleanliness system and other essential facilities in the province.

Mr Buzdar said funds had been allocated for provision of facilities in the educational institutions of Faisalabad, while health facilities would also be improved there.

He told the meeting that a committee had been constituted under law minister Basharat Raja to recommend the creation for establishing new districts and tehsils in the province.

On receiving complaints, the chief minister directed the Chief Minister Inspection Team (CMIT) to conduct an inquiry into the matter of preparation of “fake lists” for induction of favourite candidates in University of Agriculture Faisalabad and Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa). He ordered a “stern action” against those found involved in the scam.

He said the meetings with the MNAs and MPAs from the division would be held after every three months.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2020