LAHORE– Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal Thursday directed all the departments to ensure the timely utilization of funds and transparency in development schemes.
He issued these directions while presiding over a meeting at the Planning and Development (P&D) Department to review the implementation of the annual development program (ADP) worth Rs. 560 billion.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chief Secretary stated that an efficient monitoring system is a key to the timely and transparent use of public funds. He added that progress on uplift projects would be reviewed regularly.
He directed the officers to keep an eye on quality, and pace work on all the 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 Chief Secretary 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 utilization of funds in the ADP 2020-21 was ‘remarkable’.
Secretary P&D Mujahid Sher Dil briefed the meeting about the allocated funds, their releases, and utilization. He said that out of 4676 unapproved schemes, 4259 schemes have been approved, and Rs. 205 billion of total Rs 560 have been released.
He said that the provincial government has allocated 35 percent of the annual development program 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 that the use of funds should be expedited at the level of expenditure. He said that as per the direction of Chief Minister Punjab, the departments should work hard to complete the development projects within the stipulated time, adding that a third-party audit of all schemes would be carried out. The administrative secretaries of all departments, members of the P&D board, and officers concerned attended the meeting.— HANDOUT
