LWMC falters in garbage disposal

Lack of planning causes hurdles in takeover of disposal operation from contractors

LAHORE:

The Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) is facing resource constraints and coordination problems in fulfilling the responsibility of garbage collection from the city and its delivery to the dumping point since taking over the task from contractors on January 1.

Piles of garbage accumulated along the roads in various parts of the city of over 12 million people due to lack of funds and other resources, coordination among government agencies and timely decisions and arrangements.

Citizens faced problems due to stench and filth, while it was unclear how long it would take for the sanitary situation to return to normality.

Former chief minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif signed a contract with Turkish companies in 2011 to pick up garbage from the city and transport it to the dumping point for $18 per tonne. Since then, about Rs350 billion has gone to the companies, although it is estimated that more than half the amount could have been saved if the government agencies had done the work themselves while maintaining the related assets worth millions of rupees.

Despite efforts, the contract between the foreign firms and the waste management company could not be renewed on December 31, 2020.

On the direction of the government, the LWMC Board of Governors approved the takeover of the sanitation and garbage disposal system in the city by the company.

Following the decision, the local government department, district administration and LWMC could not make timely decisions and alternative arrangements. A number of vehicles being used by the contractors reportedly went missing along with parts.

The waste management company has about 14,000 employees, of which about 10,000 are engaged in cleaning work in the city, while the remaining 4,000 are on duty in the Orange Line Train, Metrobus and the head office. Of the staff deputed across the city, about 8,000 are contract employees.

The annual budget of the company, received from the finance department, is Rs14 billion, which increases Rs17 billion after the allocation for other responsibilities.

The company has 250 vehicles from the era when it was under the metropolitan corporation, which have reached the end of their useful life and about 100 of them are barely running.

The foreign firms had 450 vehicles that were 10 years old and at the moment about 300 of them are being used and the rest are out of order and parked in workshops. Sources said the contractors were also suspected of diverting several vehicles to other cities.

The LWMC has a large number of employees but needs 10,000 containers to keep the garbage generated by the current population of Lahore, but the number of available containers is very low. Similarly, the required number of loader and dumper vehicles is about 900, but their current number is 400. Thus, there is more than 50 per cent shortage of machinery.

Disputes between the contractors and the waste management company led to strikes by employees, which caused piling up of more than 50,000 tonnes of waste along the city's roads and streets. The stench has made life difficult for the citizens of the affected areas.

In view of the situation, the LWMC launched a ‘zero waste’ operation across the city but due to lack of resources, the backlog and 5,000 tonnes of garbage collected daily has not been picked up yet. The regular cleaning and disposal of garbage has also been affected.

The Lakhodair landfuill site was owned by private firms and the company has encountered difficulties in dumping garbage there. Wages are now being paid on a daily basis and an advertisement has been issued for awarding contracts to private firms for another 40 days.

LWMC Chairman Malik Amjad Noon told The Express Tribune a lot of efforts were being made to get rid of the corrupt and commission mafia. “If resources and machinery are provided with the help of Punjab government, Rs5 billion will be saved annually along with an increase in assets by running the system ourselves instead of in foreign currency. Work is being done in three shifts in the city. We will soon clean the city of Lahore by using the available resources.” He agreed that timely decisions and alternative arrangements and strategies would have helped avoid the current problems.

LWMC MD Imran Ali Sultan said that the leaves of the employees had been cancelled after taking the charge of the cleanliness operation. Garbage has been removed from most parts of the city and the Punjab government has been informed of the situation, he added.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2021.