LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to construct a separate secretariat and officer and staff residence in south Punjab at an estimated cost of Rs 4 billion.
In this connection, a summary has been sent to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, disclosed sources here on Saturday.
The source said the Punjab Chief Minister had already approved establishment of a secretariat for south Punjab both at Bahawalpur and Multan in order to facilitate people at their doorsteps," they added.
"For the construction of the secretariat, suitable locations have been identified and the land is expected to be transferred in the name of the South Punjab Secretariat very soon. The scheme namely 'Construction of South Punjab Secretariat and GOR at Bahawalpur and Multan' has been prepared for the inclusion in the current Annual Development Programme (2020-21) and it will be allowed to be executed through the Infrastructure Development Authority of Punjab (IDAP)," they added.
It may be mentioned that on June 30 the Punjab government had formally appointed the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) and Additional Inspector General (AIG) for south Punjab. ACS Zahid Akhtar Zaman, a Grade 21 officer, was posted in Bahawalpur and IGP Inam Ghani, a Grade 21 police officer, in Multan.
The new secretariat will cover the divisions of Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan.
According to the sources, the government wanted to establish the secretariat with full departments in south Punjab, including planning and development, finance, police, health, education, irrigation, communication and works, local government, housing and agriculture. Each department will be headed by a secretary. Separate directorate/regional offices will also be established under the department.
"All departments and attached departments require offices for functioning and delivering services. At the same time, residential accommodation is required for the officers and the staff working at the secretariat.
At present, there is no such facility available in the existing set-up. In order to fully operationalise the South Punjab Secretariat at Bahawalpur and Multan, there is a need to establish suitable office buildings as well as residential accommodation for the officers and staff," they said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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