LAHORE: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar says the PTI government, in its two-and-a-half-year tenure, has been able to rectify mistakes of the previous PML-N government and gave the people of South Punjab their due rights.

He alleged that the rulers of previous regimes had utilised funds allocated for south Punjab for development of other areas and claimed that the PTI government had launched the real development projects instead of pomp and show and self-projection.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Buzdar said the former rulers intentionally kept the people of South Punjab backward and below the poverty line.

“The PML-N government fooled and hoodwinked the people of South Punjab in the name of development.”

However, from now onwards, he added, the Annual Development Programme (ADP) of South Punjab would be prepared separately and ring-fenced.

The chief minister directed the officials concerned that the uplift schemes under the ADP should be completed within the stipulated timeframe. He said the development projects had been launched for the welfare of the masses; therefore, transparency and timely completion was of utmost importance. He said the government was the custodianof peoples’ money and embezzlement in these projects would not be tolerated.

Saying that corruption, laxity and negligence would not be tolerated, Mr Buzdar said the government would encourage the government officials who would deliver while those failing in performing their duties would be censured.

The CM sought timely utilisation of the funds released for development projects, saying that the departments failing to utilise the released funds would be questioned. He also called for ensuring effective monitoring for the timely utilisation of development funds.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2021