LAHORE: The Punjab Chief Minister Inspection Team carried out late-night surprise visits to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Okara and the Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) hospitals in Depalpur and Chichawatni, uncovering complaints of overcharging at a hospital parking facility along with visible deficiencies in basic civic services, according to an official statement issued on Saturday.
The most serious finding emerged at THQ Hospital Chichawatni, where the team received complaints from visitors about excessive parking charges being collected at the facility. Acting on the spot, the inspection team ordered the cancellation of the parking contract and directed the registration of a case against those responsible.
The inspectors did not confine their scrutiny to hospital premises. The team also took notice of stagnant rainwater and non-functional streetlights in Okara district — two complaints that typically spike in the weeks following the monsoon, when standing water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and unlit roads raise the risk of night-time accidents.
On the basis of the team’s report, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif expressed displeasure and sought immediate explanations from the deputy commissioners of Okara and Sahiwal. Chichawatni falls within Sahiwal district, while Depalpur is a tehsil of Okara — placing the responsibility for the flagged lapses squarely with the two district administrations.
The Chief Minister also directed the authorities to immediately begin reconstruction of the dilapidated Depalpur Road, a corridor used daily by commuters and patients travelling to the tehsil’s public health facilities.
Contracted parking at public hospitals has long been a friction point for attendants and patients in Punjab, who often arrive during medical emergencies and are in no position to dispute a tariff at the gate. By ordering both the cancellation of the contract and the registration of a case, the inspection team has signalled that overcharging at a government facility will be treated as a punishable offence rather than a contractual dispute to be settled quietly.
The Chief Minister Inspection Team functions as a direct oversight arm of the Chief Minister’s Office, conducting unannounced visits to public offices, hospitals and service delivery points and reporting findings straight to the top. Its use of late-night timings is significant: after-hours visits test whether staffing, lighting, emergency cover and support services hold up when supervision is thinnest.
In a parallel civic initiative in the provincial capital, a meeting of Horticulture Directors was held on Sunday under the chairmanship of Additional Managing Director Horticulture Agency Lahore, Tasleem Akhtar Rao, where details of unavailable facilities in C-Class parks across all areas of Lahore were sought.
The meeting decided to initiate comprehensive planning for the upgradation of parks in line with the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. On the directions of Managing Director Horticulture Agency Lahore Ahmed Usman Javed, proformas have been provided to the concerned directors to collect details of available and missing facilities.
Tasleem Akhtar Rao directed all Horticulture Directors to submit detailed reports on C-Class parks within two weeks. The proforma seeks details regarding the area of parks, boundary walls, walkways, jogging tracks, lighting, children’s swings, flower beds, grass lawns and trees. Directors have also been asked to report on the availability of washrooms, drinking water, gyms and other essential and recreational facilities.
The Additional Managing Director said that based on the reports received, necessary measures and priorities would be finalised for the improvement and upgradation of C-Class parks, with the objective of providing citizens with better, quality and accessible recreational facilities.
Attention now shifts to the responses of the Okara and Sahiwal deputy commissioners, the filing of the case ordered at Chichawatni, and the start date for reconstruction work on Depalpur Road. In Lahore, the two-week deadline for the C-Class park reports falls in the third week of September, after which the Horticulture Agency is expected to finalise its upgradation priorities.
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