Govt slammed for lack of cleanliness

MPA from Muzaffargarh says his city hasn’t been cleaned since floods hit in 2010

LAHORE: Lawmakers of the treasury benches criticised their own government for the poor management of departments involved in removing garbage from different areas of cities in the province.

MPA Niaz Hussain Khan Gishkori slammed the government, saying he had been playing a silent role for the last nine months, but would no longer keep mum. He pointed out that the city of Muzaffargarh hadn’t been cleaned since floods hit the area in 2010.

“With big smiles on our faces, we all come to attend assembly sessions and leave after exchanging fiery speeches. What are we actually doing for the welfare of the public?” he asked Panel chairman Mian Muhammad Shafi who was presiding over the House.

“We should do something for the people if we are sitting here in the assembly.”

He demanded that the house form a committee to examine his claims. He also requested the assembly to order a survey and learn about the miseries of poor people. The MPA said he lives in an industrial city and the people are suffering from kidney diseases and hepatitis, but no attention was paid to their problems. However, no minister, including Punjab Minister for Law Raja Basharat, responded to him.

During the question-answer session, PTI’s Uzma Kardar said that the presence of garbage on the city’s roads had ruined its beauty. She asked what sort of measures the government had taken to dispose of the filth.

Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government and Community Development Department Ahmed Khan Bhacher said the present regime could not look at the ongoing contracts for garbage disposal as they were signed till March 2020 by PML-N.

He said sanitary workers were seen setting leaves on fire on roads rather than removing them. “What sort of action is being taken against those involved in such practices?” he asked. Bhacher dispelled the impression that garbage was being burnt, adding that the government would take action if any sanitary worker was caught in the act.

Shawana Bashir, another PTI MPA, expressed her gloom over the dissatisfactory arrangements made by the government to remove garbage in Lahore. Bhacher replied that the administration was working to improve cleanliness in the city. However, he clarified that contracts awarded by the previous government were not based on merit.

Responding to another query by PML-N’s Chaudhary Ashraf Ali on whether the government has a plan to install more water filtration plants in Gujranwala, Bhacher said they were going to put up 10 of them in collaboration with the World Bank.

Responding to PML-N’s Muhammad Arshad Malik query about the construction of a model graveyard in Sahiwal, Bhacher said that the local government department had sent the summary to Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and work would soon begin.

Lawmakers of the treasury and opposition benches seemed relaxed when Panel Chairman Mian Muhammad Shafi presided over the House. Most MPAs were busy chatting loudly with each other. Shafi ordered the lawmakers to maintain decorum after MPAs of both sides drew his attention towards the matter.

While items were smoothly being ticked off the agenda, a PML-N lawmaker pointed to the lack of quorum. The treasury MPAs expressed their dismay over the matter, saying it was astonishing that the government was accommodating opposition’s agenda items, yet PML-N was pointing to the lack of quorum. However, the government could not show the required number of legislators in the house and proceedings were prorogued for an indefinite period.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2019.