LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Wednesday accorded approval to revamp the province’s Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) department.
The approval was granted at a meeting to review the future roadmap, which was attended by Provincial Finance Minister Hashim Jawan Bakht, Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, provincial chief secretary, and chairmen of DGPR and P&D.
The CM approved procurement of two digital satellite news gathering (DSNG) vans along with the establishment of a state-of-the-art studio, besides technologising four directorates to meet the modern-day needs.
It was decided in the meeting that the print media, electronic media, digital media, administration, advertisement, legal and information technology sections will be rejigged and all the directorates will be provided with the latest information and communication technology tools to perform optimally.
It was also decided to grant a special allowance of 25 per cent of basic pay to the officers and officials of the department.
The chief minister directed that the cabinet standing committee for finance and development will give final recommendations after a detailed review.
He also approved monetisation policy for the DGPR employees to procure leased vehicles from the Bank of Punjab. He directed that the estimates for modernisation and improvement in the DGPR building be collected from Infrastructure Development Authority (IDA).
The participants also deliberated over the proposal of a media tower’s construction in the DGPR department through a public-private partnership.
The CM also directed to ensure consultation before initiating the proposal of the chief minister’s internship programme for young media graduates.
Buzdar said, “The multifarious importance of the DGPR department has increased over the time and every sort of resources are being provided to modernise the department for meeting the emerging challenges of the 21st century. The information and communications technology boom has brought an ever-increasing globalised information revolution. That is why, good command over the use of digital media and IT tools is imperative for the DGPR officials. The department will be revamped to meet the electronic and social media challenges.”
Earlier, secretary information briefed the participants about the department’s performance and modernisation plans.
