LAHORE: Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq has said that implementing a uniform sanitation system in the province should be completed within the stipulated time frame.

He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting with the Chief Executive Officers CEOs of waste management companies across Punjab through a video link here on Wednesday. During the meeting, progress in outsourcing the sanitation system was reviewed in detail; Punjab Local Government Secretary Shakeel Ahmed Mian and Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) CEO Babar Sahib Din were present on this occasion.

The Minister averred that implementing a uniform sanitation system in the province should be completed within the stipulated time frame, adding that a long-lasting and high-quality sanitation system in Punjab would be introduced. “There would be no change in the deadline set by the Punjab Chief Minister to implement this system, thus the waste management companies should ensure timely completion of the model project,” he added.

“Public cooperation is most important in the pilot sanitation project; therefore, all possible participation of the citizens would be ensured in this regard. The local government department is devising a mechanism for effective monitoring of private companies after introducing the ‘outsourcing model’. The instructions issued in this regard should be strictly followed,” he added.

During the meeting, the participants deliberated on the goals set for the companies and different survey models for determining population and number of houses were also discussed.

The Punjab Local Government Secretary directed the CEOs to ensure timely completion of waste dumping sites at the tehsil level, adding that a cleaning mechanism is being created in the villages for the first time. “In this context, the secretaries of the union councils must be taken into the loop,” he directed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024