Suthra Punjab Programme launched

LAHORE:Provincial Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq has launched the Suthra Punjab Programme on Tuesday.

Addressing the launching ceremony, the minister said that the launch of this unique programme is a historic moment. “Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz gave the first order to make Punjab neat and clean after the formation of the cabinet. It was a difficult journey, as there was no mechanism for proper cleanliness in cities and villages” he said.

The minister said that secretary LG, CEOs of waste management companies, commissioners and deputy commissioners played an active role in this campaign. He further said that 60,000 tons of waste is produced in the province every day, but most of it is not collected due to unavailability of required machinery and resources.

In the first phase, he said that 110 out of 149 tehsils of Punjab have been outsourced. There will be house-to-house garbage collection and de-silting work. He said that LWMC will also be restructured in Lahore. “At least, one safe dumping site will also be built in each tehsil”, he said.

The minister pledged that in the next phase, we will also make energy from the waste. “88,000 jobs have been created for Suthra Punjab Programme and more job opportunities will also be created”, he vowed. He said that 25,000 vehicles and machinery were purchased for the programme. He further said that Suthra Punjab will prove to be a major cleaning programme of the region. “This model will be made self-sustained and long-lasting. Suthra Punjab will prove to be a masterpiece of using modern technology. Monitoring will be done with the use of artificial intelligence. Control rooms were formed at tehsil, district, division level,” he added.

He said the citizens will also be able to file complaints through the App. A penalty mechanism has been created for non-implementation of complaints. Transparency and monitoring was an important component of this Programme. The minister appealed that the citizens should cooperate with the line departments in this people-friendly programme.