LAHORE: The Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) on Friday approved nine major development schemes in the sectors of agriculture, local government, and infrastructure, with a total estimated cost exceeding Rs52.357 billion.
The approvals were granted during the second PDWP meeting for the fiscal year 2025–26, chaired by Dr. Naeem Rauf, Chairman of the Planning & Development Board.
Key agricultural initiatives include the revised Chief Minister’s Programme for the solarisation of agricultural tube-wells (Rs7.229 billion), an internship scheme for agriculture graduates (Rs2.155 billion), and the Chief Minister Punjab Kissan Card scheme (Rs9.868 billion).
Additionally, the PDWP gave a green light to Phase-II of the Punjab Green Tractor Programme (Rs5.076 billion), the Punjab Hi-Power Tractor Programme (Rs9.580 billion), and a project for agricultural transformation in the Potohar region (Rs7 billion).
In the local government sector, the establishment of a Project Implementation and Management Unit (PIMU) under the Punjab Rural Municipal Services Company (PRMSC), along with Service Delivery Units (SDUs), was approved at an estimated cost of Rs4.030 billion.
Two major infrastructure projects were also sanctioned: the construction of underpasses at GPO Chowk and TM Chowk on Mall Road, including a pedestrian underpass near AFIC in Rawalpindi (Rs5.551 billion), and the widening of the road from District Complex to Kakuwal Bridge with a flyover in Mandi Bahauddin (Rs1.864 billion).
The meeting was attended by Secretary P&D Board Rafaqat Ali, Secretary Agriculture Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, Chief Economist Masood Anwar, members of the P&D Board, and other senior officials.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
