LAHORE, April 9: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi banned on Friday the purchase of poor people's land for housing societies. The ban, imposed under the Land Acquisition Act, is applicable to all the concerned - private housing societies, development authorities like LDA as well as DHA.

Presiding over a meeting of ministers and MPAs from Lahore, Okara, Kasur and Sheikhupura, the chief minister said certain housing societies were purchasing the land of the poor with the connivance of the government officials for commercial purposes. The ban would check such a negative practice, he added.

He said from now onwards the government would relax the ban on the procurement of land only in the best interest of people. The chief minister said the process of approving development projects had been accelerated and all such schemes would be completed in time.

He said a new mechanism of agricultural marketing was being devised under which farmers would be guided on the marketing of their produce. He also said the role of the market committees would be changed, as they were not playing their specified role.

The government, he claimed, had started providing 50 per cent concession to the farmers at the tail-ends of canals. Planning had also been made to provide them with adequate water for irrigation.

The chief minister said a plan had been made also to initiate development projects in several villages in the province. Changes were being introduced in the basic health units in the province to provide proper health care to the people.

According to him, huge funds had been allocated for improving the efficiency of police. The officials found maltreating people would be dealt with an iron fist. The elected representatives highlighted the problems of their constituencies at the meeting, which was attended also by DCOs and DPOs of the four districts.