Punjab approves Rs50m per village under rural development plan
The first phase covers 475 villages with Rs23.85 billion allocated, and the chief minister has asked for a plan for 2,000 more.
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has given in-principle approval to Rs50 million for development work in every village of the province under the CM Punjab Khushhal Dehat Program, ARY News reported on Saturday.
Rs23.85 billion has been allocated for the programme, and the chief minister directed that the first instalment be released to the village committees in November. Work starts in 475 villages in the first phase.
Streets in every village are to be paved and a sewerage system laid.
Each village's projects will be supervised by a Khushhal Dehat committee headed by the relevant Additional Deputy Commissioner for Social Services. The committee will have five government officials and four private members, and will also include the Union Council chairman and the sub-engineer for the area.
Maryam Nawaz has asked for a development plan for the second phase, which will cover 2,000 villages.
"Whether a village or a city, development in Punjab will now be uniform," she said, according to ARY News.
The chief minister said everyone was included in what she described as the journey of development, and that political affiliation would not be allowed to create hurdles. Development programmes and the resolution of local problems were the right of every area of Punjab, she said.
UrduPoint reported the same approval and the same Rs23.85 billion allocation, and said the village projects would be completed through the Khushhal Dehat committees.
The chief minister's approval covers the whole province; no district-wise breakdown of the 475 villages in the first phase was given in either report.
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