Energy crisis may worsen if steps not taken, says Aleem

LAHORE: Punjab Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said that the past government ran affairs on ad hoc basis in all the sectors and the public exchequer was wasted. He asked the officers of Energy Department to prepare recommendations keeping in view the ground realities to ensure continuity of the existing projects on permanent basis and resolve the issues.

Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan chaired meetings of health, education, industries, tourism and women development departments. The ministers and secretaries attended the meetings which discussed the 100-day plan of the government.

The senior minister said, “Keeping in view the high hopes of the masses, we have to make solid planning during these 100 days, on which, implementation would be made in the coming years.”

He said Rs 9 billion were payable by the companies only in power sector. If immediate steps are not taken, loadshedding duration would further be extended from two to four hours a day, he added. The senior minister disclosed this while chairing a meeting of Energy Department in which Bhikkhi, Solar Park, thermal and coal projects were discussed.

He said that during the last regime, billions of rupees were showered in the name of ending loadshedding and many projects were carried out only on papers. Similarly, the public exchequer was wasted on the unnecessary publicity while the results were nothing.

The senior minister said that due to his personal efforts, the closure of Bhikkhi power plant was not possible and his intervention assured continuity of the plant to produce electricity. He said a meeting would be held in Islamabad with the federal ministers and authorities next week . He asked the officers of Energy Department to prepare recommendations keeping in view the ground realities to ensure continuity of the existing projects on permanent basis and resolve the issues. He said the present government had inherited a number of chronic issues which were creating hurdles to run the affairs. He, however, affirmed the belief that soon the government would be evolving a strategy to overcome the situation and bring about practical changes in every sphere of life.

Moreover, Provincial Minister for Finance Hasham Jawaan Bakhat and Minister for Irrigation Mohsin Leghari called on Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan at his office at 90 Shara–e- Quaid-e-Azam and exchanged views on the 100-day plan and performance of their departments. The senior minister said the Punjab government would bring a budget on the facts. He also stressed the need to resolve the pending issues in Irrigation Department and assured his all-out cooperation in this regard.

NGOs: The provincial minister for social welfare and Bait-ul-Maal has decided to take stern action against the fake NGOs. The minister has directed the department to contact all the NGOs and identify the NGOs which were misusing the money of the poor and needy people. The minister issued these directors to the officers while visited the department and later chaired a meeting.

The provincial minister said that the money was a trust of poor people and would be distributed among them honestly. Social Welfare and Bait-ul-Maal Secretary Ambreen Raza briefed the meeting about the structure, performance and the ongoing projects of the department. The minister vowed to invite the philanthropists to donated to the department. He directed the Social Welfare & Bait-ul-Maal Department to establish its media cell. Different suggestions relating to strengthening and enhancing the performance of the department were also presented in the meeting.

rally: Hundreds of Electricity/Wapda workers held a rally at Bakhtiar Labour Hall on Tuesday under All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union CBA. They urged the government to provide adequate security to the field staff of distribution electricity and Sui gas workers.

They demanded the government bring back the money deposited in foreign banks by the rulers and impose taxes on them. Trade union leader Khurshid Ahmad, general-secretary, addressing the rally demanded safe working conditions and safety regulations and safety equipment for the workers.

The union leaders also paid tribute to the martyrs of Karbala for their heroic sacrifices against brutal forces. The rally was also addressed by Haji Younas, senior vice president, Rana Abdul Shakoor, Zafar Shah, Muzaffar Mateen, Ch Maqsood Ahmad, Rana Akram, Zubair Malik and other representatives of the union.