Work has been started on a project of providing sanitation facilities to the residents of the entire province on the pattern of cities and handing over the responsibility to the Waste Management Companies for privatisation.
Under the project, garbage tax will be imposed on the people at the divisional level across Punjab. According to sources, the provincial government has approved a proposal to set up waste management companies in the divisions where they do not already exist.
The companies in Lahore and other cities have started entering into agreements with administrators posted in the districts for carrying out sanitation work in their areas. They have also begun registering firms for the allotment of the cleaning work through tenders.
The sources said it was expected that the companies would begin collecting and disposing of garbage across the province in about six months.
The waste management companies are operating in seven major divisions of Punjab but their servicecs are limited to a few cities.
During the past decade, foreign companies cleaned Lahore and disposed of garbage for amounts paid in foreign exchange. The waste management company itself could not build its assets despite spending heavy amounts on the service.
Under the previous government, the Lahore Waste Management Company was again entrusted with the responsibility of collecting and disposing of garbage from the city. More than 1,000 vehicles and 15,000 employees are involved in the operation, whose annual budget exceeds Rs17 billion.
After Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif came to power, the responsibility of sanitation throughout Punjab was taken from the department of local government and community development for privatisation and strengthening the waste management companies.
The companies are working in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Multan, DG Khan and Bahawalpur. There are no waste management companies in Sahiwal and Sargodha but the Punjab government has given permission for their establishment.
The seven divisional waste management companies have been empowered to enter into contracts with the district officials and administrators for the sanitation and waste disposal services.
Under the plan, the waste management companies will register private firms for carrying out sanitation work in the districts and then privatise the operation through tenders while continuing to monitor the work.
Like other divisions, the Lahore Waste Management Company has signed agreements with the district administrations of Kasur, Sheikhupura, Nankana and other districts and is now enlisting private companies interested in taking up the cleaning work for pre-qualification after evaluating their equipment and staff.
The officials claim that after the implementation of the plan, the cleaning and garbage disposal work will be privatised and a uniform sanitation system made available to the people throughout the province.
The Punjab government will also collect garbage tax from the residents for providing the sanitation facilities.
The sources said the method of tax collection and its amount was being worked out by the authorities concerned.
Punjab Local Government Secretary Shakeel Ahmed Mian told The Express Tribune that work was being done rapidly to provide uniform sanitation facilities to the people across the province on the instructions of the chief minister. The waste management companies are making agreements with the administrators in the districts, who will be authorised to award contracts of the sanitation work to private companies and monitor them. In response to a question, the secretary confirmed that a garbage tax would be levied.
LWMC Chief Executive Officer Babar Saheb Deen said agreements had been signed with the administrators of Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nankana regarding the scheme.
The pre-qualification of the companies for privatising the sanitation work is in progress and tenders will be invited soon, he added.
He said the company would utilize its experience to improve the sanitation facilities in other districts on the same pattern as Lahore.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 1st, 2024.
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