LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday gave the authorities a 15-day deadline to bring about a 100 per cent improvement in cleanliness across the province, expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of solid waste management companies.
Chairing a special meeting to review the Suthra Punjab programme, the chief minister decided in principle to terminate the services of waste management companies over unsatisfactory cleanliness arrangements. The meeting also approved a shift to self-operation of sanitation services in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan. Expressing concern over dust and dirt on roads across the province, Maryam Nawaz directed the authorities to ensure daily washing of main roads. She also ordered fines for people found littering roads after cleaning operations and directed strict action against those dumping garbage in markets, bazaars, vegetable, fruit and grain markets. The meeting set targets for ensuring adequate human resources and machinery in every district, while the chief minister directed that villages be cleaned on alternate days.
She instructed deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners to hold weekly meetings with Field Monitoring Officers (FMOs) and directed the formulation of key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate their performance. The chief minister also ordered timely payment of salaries to sanitation workers in every city and locality, emphasising that workers should not face delays in receiving their wages. She sought details from all deputy commissioners about the machinery required for sanitation operations, along with a comprehensive record of savings expected through the self-operation model.
The meeting also discussed imposing fines on owners of vacant plots where garbage was found dumped.
Deputy commissioners of Multan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Hafizabad, Muzaffargarh and other districts presented reports on cleanliness arrangements in their respective areas.
Maryam Nawaz directed all deputy commissioners to physically verify the availability and condition of machinery and equipment in their districts. She also convened a follow-up meeting on the Suthra Punjab programme after one week to review progress.
