LAHORE: Punjab’s Local Government and Community Minister Ibraheem Murad has said that considerable progress has been made on the preparation of master plans of 11 big districts of the province, as land use classification maps of these districts have been prepared and sent to the respective deputy commissioners for approval and notification.
He disclosed this while chairing a meeting to review the progress made on the master plans here on Thursday. For catering to the food requirements of the people of Punjab, the minister emphasised that agricultural land should be safeguarded at all costs and the area under cultivation protected.
He said that green areas should be clearly earmarked in these master plans and new housing schemes should never be allowed to develop on such areas.
He directed for taking stern action against illegal residential schemes that had already been established without permission. He further directed for creating economic corridors in these districts for encouraging business and commercial activities for providing employment opportunities to citizens at local level and to reduce migration to big cities. He also Murad directed that in view of the future development requirements, the master plans of 11 districts of Punjab should be completed at the earliest.
On this occasion, Project Director Umm Laila Naqvi gave a briefing on master plans. The meeting was told that these 11 districts included Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Okara, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Wahari, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan. The meeting was further informed that after approval of land use classification maps, the land use plans of 11 districts of Punjab will be prepared, which would be able to meet the development requirements of these districts for the next 20 years. Meanwhile, on receiving a complaint through social media, the Minister suspended two employees of Faisalabad Parking Company. These employees had been involved in torturing an elderly citizen who had came to get free flour at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023