Meeting Reviews Rs 560b ADP Programme Implementation

Faizan Hashmi Published September 23, 2021 | 07:01 PM

Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal Thursday directed all departments to ensure timely utilisation of funds and transparency in development schemes

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Sep, 2021 ) :Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal Thursday directed all departments to ensure timely utilisation of funds and transparency in development schemes.

He was presiding over a meeting at the Planning and Development (P&D) Department to review implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) worth Rs 560 billion.

Speaking at the meeting, the chief secretary said that an efficient monitoring system was the key to timely and transparent use of public funds. He said that progress on uplift projects would be reviewed regularly. He directed the officers to keep an eye on quality and pace of work on all schemes.

He said that the departments should identify the obstacles in the way of development projects so that these could be removed as soon as possible.

The CS also appreciated the efforts of the P&D board for timely approval of development schemes.

He said that the performance of the departments in terms of utilisation of funds in the ADP 2020-21 was 'remarkable'.

During the meeting, P&D Secretary Mujahid Sher Dil briefed the meeting about the allocated and released funds as well as their utilisation. He said that out of 4,676 unapproved schemes, 4,259 schemes had been approved, and Rs 205 billion of total Rs 560 billion had been released.

He said the provincial government had allocated 35 per cent of the ADP for south Punjab, while it earmarked Rs 54.2 billion for education and Rs 95.9 billion for the health sector.

Chairman P&D Abdullah Khan Sumbal said the use of funds should be expedited at the level of expenditure. He said that as per the direction of the Punjab chief minister, the departments should work hard to complete development projects within the stipulated time period, adding that a third-party audit of all schemes would be carried out.