LAHORE: Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Director General (DG) Muhammad Tahir Wattoo said on Friday that the Authority was in the process of digitising its revenue generation, and the marketing and coordination wings had been issued directions in this regard.
The two wings, responsible for regulating outdoor advertisements and food courts, as well as amusement items under the PHA jurisdiction, account for majority of the department’s revenue. Wattoo said the PHA was working with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to transform the department into a digital, technology-driven organisation that also uses big data, in phases.
In the first phase, regularisation of commercial billboards would be computerised. Digital streamers, LED advertisement screens, and shop boards would follow in the second phase, he added. The existing database would be published on secure servers and would be available to both the advertisers and the department.
The move aims to allow advertisers to avoid coming to the
offices or waiting for action on their applications while also ensuring fiscal transparency. The new system sets time limits for officials to dispose of the applications, he added. ‘The monitoring system will also help with the performance accountability of officials and improve the ease of doing business,’ the director general noted.
Separately, the PHA plans to lease a dozen underpasses on Canal Road, Gulberg, and Ferozepur Road for advertisements, collectively valued at Rs 860 million.
The project expects a strong outcome from these digital and administrative reforms, aiming to enhance revenue collection to Rs3 billion by the financial year 2024-25, up from Rs2.35 billion in the financial year 2023-24.