Lahore: The Punjab Cabinet recently approved the Punjab Spatial Strategy (PSS) to initiate the launch of a spatial planning system for the province, as per news reports.
The PSS will not only keep track of geospatial data pertaining to planning and construction activities in Punjab, but will also provide the opportunity for this vital resource to be used in the government’s policymaking pursuits – specifically for development schemes.
Punjab Planning and Development (P&D) Board Chairman Habibur Rehman Gillani has said that the PSS would allow the state to bring together the data streams retrieved from multiple projects – in order to mould them in line with the vision set by the provincial government. According to him, the government’s development planning capabilities would increase in the wake of this project’s operational success.
PSS was developed by the P&D Board in collaboration with the Urban Unit to gather the spatial data of the province. It was then analysed by several prominent national and international experts of the field.
This strategy is a long-term planning guideline specific to Punjab (and aimed for implementation, therein). Based on empirical evidence, it has laid out policies to guide private and public patterns of investment within the province. Consequently, it can now act as a plan for sustainable and continuous development.
Its implementation will also ensure that spatial policies and public sector investments align properly in various sectors, including irrigation and environment. It will help the province move in a unified direction, according to Provincial Secretary for P&D Iftikhar Ali Sahoo.
