BAHAWALPUR: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has approved a summary regarding construction of South Punjab Secretariat and GORs (government officers’ residences) at Bahawalpur/Multan for which a sum of Rs4,000 million (Rs4 billion) has been approved that will be included in the current year’s annual development programme (ADP).

The summary (a copy of which is available with Dawn) was submitted for approval of chief minister by his principal secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, who in a communication sent it after CM’s approval to the chief secretary and additional chief secretary (ACS), South Punjab for further necessary action.

According to the CM’s approval, the construction scheme of South Punjab (SP) secretariat and GORs would be executed through Infrastructure Development Authority of Punjab (IDAP).

According to the contents of the summary,the South Punjab secretariats were planned to be established in both Bahawalpur and Multan with full departments of planning and development (P&D), finance, police ,health, education, irrigation, communication and works, local government, housing, agriculture. Each department will be headed by a secretary. In addition, the separate directorates /regional offices will also be established under the department.

The summary has pointed out that all attached departments required offices for functioning and delivering services and residential accommodation for officers and staff working in the secretariat. But, at present, no such facility was available in the existing set-up at Bahawalpur and Multan and as such there was a need to establish suitable office buildings as well as residential accommodations. So, in order to construct the secretariat at Bahawalpur/Multan, suitable localities have been identified and its land is expected to be transferred in the name of South Punjab secretariat very soon.

Meanwhile, the leaders and activists belonging to a number of organisations and fronts demanded restoration of Bahawalpur as province at a media talk here on Saturday, and a complete and whole-time South Punjab secretariat in Bahawalpur.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2020