NAROWAL: Equal progress in all parts of Punjab is our main agenda and that the recently-approved local government system will bring about a fundamental change in the lives of the people.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said this at a public meeting in Zafarwal, Narowal, on Thursday. He said the Punjab Local Government Bill of 2019 was recently approved in the Punjab Assembly under which the number of union councils had been increased from 3,000 to 22,000.

He said that under the new system, every divisional headquarter would be upgraded to metropolitan. The new system will empower the masses at the grassroots as union council representatives will solve their problems and will be accountable to the masses. Mr Buzdar said the old local bodies system was full of flaws. He said there would be checks and balance in the new system too, and the people would feel the difference too.

He said injustice caused uncertainty in communities.

He said they would follow merit and ensure the equal distribution of funds for every district of Punjab.

According to him, the focus of his government was on the poor as the resolution of their problems was their priority.

He said homeless people used to sleep under the metro bus overhead bridge, but the government provided them shelter. It showed huge buildings could not resolve the problems of the poor alone.

He announced Rs200 million for the repair and building of roads of Zafarwal. He said that while he was coming from the helipad to the rally venue, he realised there are no roads in the area.

He said it was ironic that Zafarwal, despite being a tehsil, had no tehsil headquarters (THQ) hospital. He said funds for the Zafarwal THQ Hospital would be granted for its completion.

He announced the construction of a park and upgrade of Rescue 1122, and Rs500,000 for the Zafarwal Tehsil Bar Association besides the launch of a BS Honors programme in degree colleges of Narowal and Zafarwal.

Auqaf Minister Pir Saeedul Hassan, Dr Tahir Ali Javed and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers were present.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2019