Mall Road: No billboard can be erected without PHA’s permission: minister

LAHORE: Punjab Housing, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal has said that no billboard will be installed on the Mall Road without the permission of the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) and directed the concerned department to prepare a plan to beautify the road.

He expressed these views while chairing a meeting on Wednesday. Punjab Housing Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, WASA Lahore MD Ghafran Ahmed and officers of other development institutions and other related officers also attended the meeting. On this occasion, the secretary gave a briefing on the affairs of the department and progress on ongoing development schemes.

While addressing a meeting, the minister also directed that the facility of one-window operation in the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) should be improved and an effective action plan should be made to end litigation in the institution. “Prevention of illegal constructions should also be ensured,” he added.

According to him, the schemes to beautify the entrances and exits of the city should be completed quickly. Moreover, clean drinking water is the right of every citizen and the government will give this right to everyone at every cost. Thus, the department should come up with an out-of-the-box solution for providing clean drinking water; a sustainable mechanism should be created to run the water supply schemes. The WASA system will also be improved.

He also directed the PHA to evolve a plantation campaign and give a business plan. He called for a comprehensive plan to improve the drainage system in rural areas and provide low-cost houses to the low-income sections. He further said that 100 percent utilisation of development funds should be ensured. “No obstacle will be tolerated in the process of providing services to the public; we have to work together as a team to provide better services”, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022