Peshawar: Green, clean hopes

'Clean and Green Peshawer' drive has kicked off, govt has extensive plans for beautification of the city.

PESHAWAR:

On one hand the “Clean and Green Peshawer” drive has kicked off and the government has extensive plans for beautification of the city including better solid waste management. But on the other side grass root level municipal workers seem disgruntled.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has chalked out a solid waste management plan, and has expressed a desire to complete the plan on priority basis on the direction of K-P Chief Secretary Muhammad Shahzad Arbab. Arbab explained that for the cleanliness of the city, 83 dumpers are being provided in January alone, while 183 more dumpers would be handed by June 2014.

However, the city municipal workers lashed out at the provincial government over the fact that they work on a contract basis. They say that the employees should be given golden handshakes on retirement. United Municipal Workers Union Chairman Malik Muhammad Naveed said that they are planning to launch a protest against the K-P government for making illegal appointments and alleged that 298 employees were appointed on political grounds.

Iqbal Khan, Personal Secretary of K-P Local Government Minister Inayatullah Khan, said that the City Municipal Corporation would be privatized, and that this move will not affect the employees’ service structure and pension issues. He expressed dissatisfaction over the work of the municipal corporation employees. “We cannot tolerate this kind of attitude.”

Iqbal Khan claims that the government will provide 22 per cent extra allowance to those employees who will perform their duties honestly. “We will hire fresh and more dedicated candidates if the old employees insist on retirement,” he explained.

K-P Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak said that due to the apathy of those in power in the past, Peshawar, the city of flowers, had turned into ruins, and in view of the dilapidated condition of infrastructure of the city the provincial government has chalked out a comprehensive program worth Rs 4.70 billion. “On the completion of all these schemes.” Peshawar will have a new and beautiful look and the citizens will feel a pleasant change.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th, 2014.