Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has approved solid waste management plants in Multan and Gujranwala with a view to saving the people from the growing pollution in the two cities.
City District Nazim Sheikh Faisal Mukhtar said this while addressing a meeting here on Wednesday which was also attended by the district officer (solid waste management), Mumtazabad Town Nazim Mian Jamil Ahmad, a consultant of Nespak and various UC Nazims.
He said Rs 500 million would be spent on the installation of each plant to be set up on 50 acres of land. Faisal Mukhtar said the Punjab government would provide funds for these plants which would be first in the two cities of the country.
He said the urban population of Multan would get rid of pollution being spread by solid waste while underground water would also be saved from pollution in Multan.
He claimed Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi wanted to remove deprivations of the people of Multan and other parts of south Punjab and had fulfilled all the promises made to the people during his visits to Multan. He disclosed Multan district would get grant of Rs 2.5 billion for setting up a fertiliser plant along with an SWM plant to prepare fertiliser from solid waste which would raise income of the city district government as well. Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Punjab government and the city district government would collaborate to establish an effective solid waste management system to make the city pollution-free.
The City Nazim said Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi had introduced Southern Punjab Basic Urban Services Project (SPBUSP) under which uplifts schemes worth billions of rupees were being executed in south Punjab.
The Punjab and the city district governments were working on improving SWM capacity on priority basis, the Nazim said and added, "But still we are short of target. We have enhanced our capacity to dispose of 60 percent of the solid waste per day and are adopting measures involving mechanised system to elevate it up to 100 percent.
He said old machinery was being replaced with the new equipment, manpower being increased, private land being acquired for solid waste storage and new systems were being introduced for its recycling.
He said some 1,660 people were presently performing sanitation jobs, while 216 more would be recruited soon for the purpose. He added Rs 232 million per month would be spent on the modern SWM system.
The consultant of Nespak said a piece of land for installing SWM plant would be selected soon and a pipeline would be laid through modern mechanism for dumping solid waste on the same. DO (Solid Waste) Malik Shakoor Bhutta said 650 tons of solid waste would be lifted daily after the installation of the SWM plant.