Minister Promises Uniform Cleaning Mechanism For Entire Punjab

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Apr, 2024) Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique has expressed his determination that a uniform cleaning mechanism will be implemented in entire Punjab.

He also resolved that no shortage of financial resources will be allowed for the “Suthra Punjab” programme. Presiding over a meeting in the Civil Secretariat regarding the progress on outsourcing the “Suthra Punjab” program, he said that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif had directed to extend the sanitation network to remote areas. “There should not be a single village with no sanitation staff available”, he directed.

The meeting was attended by Special Secretary Aseya Gul and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of waste management companies across Punjab. The provincial minister while directing the CEOs for mapping all the rural areas within a fortnight figured out that updated data of the “Ab Gaon Chamkein Ge” may be used to introduce new sanitation standards.

He said that all waste management companies should evaluate potential contractors in each tehsil. “In the area where outsourcing is not possible, the waste management company concerned will execute the cleanliness drive," he added.

During the meeting, it was proposed that at least one sanitation worker for 1800 rural and 1200 urban dwellers should be deputed, however, the minister disagreed with the suggestion and directed that at least one sanitation worker for 1500 people in villages would be fine. Emphasizing that all the waste management companies should increase their capacity building, he pointed out that sanitation goals cannot be achieved without community mobilization. “Community committees will be formed both in villages and cities consisting of local elders who would make decisions about municipal services in their respective area”, he said.