LAHORE, July 3: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that energy crisis has badly affected industrial, trade, agriculture, education, health and other social sectors.

Talking to office-bearers of chambers of commerce and industries at his Minar-e-Pakistan camp office here on Wednesday, he said the federal rulers would have to give up their “loot, corruption and lavish expenditure” and spend national resources on power projects.

He said people of Punjab were the main target of loadshedding due to which industrial and trade activities slowed down and unemployment increased in the province. He formed a committee headed by MNA Pervaiz Malik to prepare a report within a week on problems of industrial estates, establishment of new industrial estates, inspection of factories, energy crisis, provision of land for the offices of chambers, formation of reconciliation committees and other problems of business community.

The traders informed the chief minister about their problems relating to inspection of industries, energy crisis, law and order, security and expensive electricity.

Shahbaz said corruption of the rulers at the federal level plunged the country into crises. He said Punjab surrendered Rs11 billion from its share for the approval of National Finance Commission Award to promote provincial harmony and national solidarity. Still, he said, a highly unjust attitude was being shown to industrialists, labourers, cultivators and people of the province with regard to loadshedding.

He said the Punjab government was working on power generation projects expeditiously. He said coal power projects were bring set up at Lahore and Faisalabad industrial estates and each project would generate 50MW power.