LAHORE: South Punjab Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) retired Capt Saqib Zafar on Wednesday directed all administrative secretaries to launch e-registration system for property registryin allthe districts of the region to bring transparency in the process.

The ACS gave the direction in a video-link meeting held to take measures for improving good governance and service delivery in different departments.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Qaiser Saleem, Forest Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Sarfraz Magsi, Higher Education Secretary Altaf Baloch, Schools Education Secretary RanaSaleem, Primary Health Care Secretary Mehr Muhammad Hayat Lak and Specialized Health Care Secretary Afzal Nasir Khan participated in the meeting.

The secretaries of local government and irrigation departments attended the meeting via video link from Bahawalpur.

South Punjab Additional Secretary Farooq Dogar, Deputy Secretary Abdul Saboor Thakur and Section Officer Muhammad Ahmad Khan were also present.

The ACS said public complaints about corruption and fraud in the purchase and sale of property will be redressed by introduction of e-registration system that will also be linked with e-stamp, land record management system and Nadra.

There will be no possibility oftax evasion and loss of documents of property in the e-registration system, he added.

Mr Zafar said e-registration will also help streamline the real estate business.

He ordered all possible steps for training of revenue staff and use of the experience got through the ongoing e-registration pilot project in Sahiwal Division.

In the meeting, the wheat purchase campaign and the sale of sugar at the official rate were also reviewed.

The meeting decided to take further steps to make the treatment facilities more effective at health centres in remote rural areas and to take strict action against the doctors and paramedical staff found absent.

It also decided to further improve the facilities available inthe government schools, planting trees above the target in south Punjab and to speed up the plantation campaign in parks, schools and colleges.

Meanwhile, Specialised Healthcare Secretary Afzaal Nasir visited the construction site of Nishtar Hospital-II to check the quality of work. He directed the project head to complete the construction work till May 30 by launching double shifts.

He said the department would monitor the project on a daily basis, adding that it would reduce the patients load on other hospitals after completion.

Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi had also visited the project on Tuesday and directed the department to complete it till May 30.