Dumping site: Major landfill site plan on city’s outskirts faces delays

WSSP officials say funds have been released, graft body procrastinating

PESHAWAR: The district administration has adopted delaying tactics in acquiring land for the site proposed by Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) department to dump the city’s waste in Maryamzai area of Badabher.

Sources in the know told The Express Tribune the expression of interest for the proposed and identified 536-kanal land in Maryamzai near Kohat Road was published in 2015, but the execution of the project is still pending.

Fund transfer blockades

They said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led provincial government allocated over Rs174 million in the budget for fiscal year 2014-15, however, the amount was released after a delay of around two years.

According to the sources, funds were released and had been reduced to around Rs129 million by the finance department.

Hanging matter 

Insiders also said the amount to acquire land for the dumping site has been released to the district administration, but the graft body has yet to purchase it.

“A series of reminders and requests have been made to the district administration, but it is delaying the purchase,” an official, requesting anonymity, said.

Sources in the department told The Express Tribune WSSP was registered as a company and had the authority to purchase land for any project, but the government stressed the land for waste material disposition be purchased through the district administration.

WSSP Spokesperson Taimur Ahmad Shah said the government had not released funds to the body.

He explained the process of fund release and said money will be given to the district administration through the secretary for local government. “The district administration will purchase land for the project and hand it over to WSSP,” he added.

Shah also said currently an average of 900 tonnes of garbage was generated in the city. “About 76% of the waste was collected by WSSP at a sewage water treatment plant located in Hazar Khwani area of the city, while the remaining trash was left unattended,” the WSSP spokesperson told The Express Tribune.

He said the proposed project would generate 10-13 megawatts of electricity. “Work on the project will start after the district administration acquires land,” Shah said.

Further concerns

According to insiders, the tendering process had been initiated and various firms had applied to WSSP to execute the project.

Another official privy to the matter said there will be security concerns for parties interested in executing the project. “The site identified for dumping garbage is situated in an area where the law and order situation is not up to the mark,” he said.

Seeking exoneration

When contacted, Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Riaz Khan Mehsud denied the claim that funds had been released to the district administration.

He said whoever says delays in the project are occurring on the part of district administration is “lying”.

Riaz added Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 had been imposed on the identified site, but WSSP was not releasing funds for the project despite repeated reminders.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2016.