Punjab imposes strict ban on vehicle purchases in development schemes

LAHORE: The Punjab government has issued a new order to the provincial departments for new development schemes in the next fiscal year’s budget.

According to the government’s instructions, a complete ban has been imposed on the purchase of vehicles in any scheme under the development budget and the purchase of vehicles will not be included in the PC-1 of any project.

The government announcement states that the unused funds will be used for old and new schemes, however, the approval of the “SAP” steering committee will be mandatory for the use of unused funds. The committee will also review the release of funds, surrender and overall details of the program.

Furthermore, unnecessary expenses such as banners, advertising campaigns or dinner parties will not be allowed for development projects, while any institution has also been barred from charging administrative overheads on development schemes.

It will be mandatory to obtain a completion certificate from the relevant departments on completion of the projects, while the report of each scheme should include details of its impact, costs, targets and completion. The steering committee will periodically review the progress of the projects and will also be responsible for resolving issues arising during implementation.

Officials say that these measures will increase transparency in development projects and help prevent waste of public resources.