KARACHI: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) was on Wednesday asked to provide the provincial government with data on migration of people to Sindh from other provinces and countries so that it could plan a policy and a service delivery mechanism accordingly.

At a meeting held here at the Chief Minister House, PBS chief Dr Naeem Uz Zafar gave a detailed briefing to CM Murad Ali Shah on the total population, education, health, and other facilities.

The chief minister said that the provincial government needed data on migration of people to the province. “We should know how many people come to Sindh every year from other countries and provinces to formulate policy and plan service delivery,” he said, according to a statement issued here from CM House.

Mr Shah said that the provincial government had to assess how much pressure through migration was exerted on the resources of Sindh so that necessary planning and resource mobilisation could be made.

He directed the provincial planning and development department to prepare a data bank with the help of the provincial bureau of statistics and keep it updated through regular surveys.

The meeting was attended among others by Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, principal secretary to CM Agha Wasif, planning & development chairman Najam Shah and PBS member Sarwar Gondal.

The chief minister also decided to prepare a development map from the union council to the town level, which would help avoid duplication and overlapping in development plan and would help fill the gaps.

“We need to map the population of each area from the union council to the town level so that measures can be taken in terms of education, health, sports and recreational facilities as well as infrastructural development in the municipality,” he added.

The chief minister said that that he was interested in mapping education so that backward areas could be identified. “Once the backward areas are identified, we will be able to develop resources and policy accordingly,” he added.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2024