Improving effectiveness: Waste management to be mechanised says FWMC MD

FWMC to provide staff social <br /> security, life insurance benefits.

FAISALABAD: The Faisalabad Waste Management Company (FWMC) is working on a project to introduce mechanical sweeping of roads to improve the sanitary condition.

This was stated by Amjad Ali Awan, the FWMC managing director, while talking to The Express Tribune on Sunday.

“A scheme is also underway to provide free education and health facilities to the children of sanitary workers. This will help lessen the economic burden on them because their salaries are meager,” the MD said.

“All the FWMC workers and staff will be given social security and life insurance. Free medical treatment will also be provided to them and their families at Social Security Hospital, Faisalabad,” he said.

He said that the company was also considering a proposal to deal with the industrial and hospital waste. “At present, there is no system for disposal of industrial and hospital waste,” Awan said.

“Under this plan, waste will be removed from all state-run and private hospitals by applying the present day technology,” he said.

“The FWMC has jurisdiction over 113 union councils of Madina Town, Iqbal Town, Jinnah Town and Lyallpur Town,” he said. “We have 97 vehicles including 24 dumpers, 28 vehicles with arm rollers, 11 tractor loaders, one excavator, two compactors and 11 water bowsers,” he said.

Awan said that 22,495 tonnes of waste was collected in August.

Awan said that the company would induct 250 workers in the coming months. “We are also planning to purchase nine dumpers by the end of the current month,” the MD said.

“The FWMC plans to have 40 waste collection workers per union council,” he said.

Awan said that the company also planned to generate power form landfill sites.

He said that the company had taken steps to ensure the attendance of workers. “Attendance of regular workers has been achieved up to 78 per cent per month, contractual workers up to 82 per cent and daily wage workers at 75 per cent,” he said.

Awan said that the company had introduced a computerised system of payments.

“A computerised complaint registration system has been introduced. Each complaint is addressed within 24 hours,” he said.

“The FWMC performance has also been improved substantially by introducing operational management (monitoring, zoning, staff management), transport management (handling fleet and operations), organised administrative and management set-up, financial and procurement discipline, rapid response system, general acceptance of reformatory initiatives, public awareness and anti-corruption drives,” he said.

“The FWMC will also launch a campaign for raising awareness about stopping the use of plastic bags and to replace them with bio-degradable bags,” the MD said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2014.