Lack of planning on the part of the Punjab government as well as the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) has turned the city of gardens into a stinking and unhygienic place to live in. Heaps of garbage lying unattended for days on end are on view in almost every locality of Lahore, even on the important arteries of the city where VVIP movements take place routinely.

The situation in North Lahore, the Walled City and other congested, middle- and lower-middle class localities is even worse. Whereas the mismanagement is attributed to the expiration of contracts of the Turkish companies, Ozpak and Albayrak, on December 31, the fact remains that it could have been avoided if the LWMC had the foresight to do so.

The government’s hasty (read politically motivated) decision to take over the machinery, offices and workshops of both the companies, well before the expiry of their contracts, has created the current mess. It has also earned the authorities a bad name, as the news hit the headlines in Turkish mainstream media. On the other hand, the Indian media, in a bid to stop potential foreign investments in Pakistan, also highlighted the highhandedness of the LWMC in the case.

After the uncalled-for takeover, the LWMC’s management hired tractor trollies and claimed to be cleaning the city to zero-waste level by its own. The present CEO of the company also encountered an unpleasant situation in the office of the Local Government secretary where his ambitions were questioned.

Meanwhile, the Turkish contractors approached the local courts and a legal battle started between them and the LWMC. The contractors claimed that they had not been paid their full dues. The LWMC, on the other hand, claimed that it had already made excess payments.

The Turkish contractors have warned that they shall seek justice on international forums, in case the LWMC doesn’t pay their dues.

As if to add fuel to the fire, the Punjab information minister, Firdaus Ashiq Awan, along with key officers of the LWMC, chaired a press conference in which she accused Shahbaz Sharif’s government of causing a huge loss to the national exchequer in awarding the contracts to the Turkish companies.

It is pertinent to mention here that over the past two and a half years of the PTI-led provincial government, as many as seven managing directors of the LWMC have been changed. Every new MD brought his own model of waste collection for the transition period.

Afzal Shah, a senior official at Ozpak, says that as per agreement the LWMC “can’t confiscate the vehicles [of the contractors], because the contract clearly states that the vehicles should be donated post expiration.

“Donation does not mean that the LWMC has the right to confiscate our vehicles,” he says.

The Turkish contractors approached the local courts and a legal battle started between them and the LWMC. The contractors claimed that they had not been paid their full dues. The LWMC, on the other hand, claimed that it had already made excess payments.

At least 5,000 tonnes of waste is generated daily in the city. The Turkish contractors had employed specialised machinery in two shifts to clean the city and dispose of the waste at the landfill site. Presently, the LWMC is using the 200-odd vehicles (seized from the Turkish contractors), but it mainly relies on local tractor trollies for the purpose. The waste is at first transferred to a nearby station, from where it is sent to Lakhodair.

Khwaja Ahsan, a resident of Allama Iqbal Town, says that huge amounts of refuse now lie about unattended in close proximity to mosques, parks, and small markets in the area, causing nuisance for the public.

Ubaidullah, from Green Town, recalls that earlier waste would be removed in two to three shifts. “The uncollected waste is causing the drains to choke,” he adds.

The uncollected waste produces an extreme stench besides causing inconvenience to the pedestrians, says Shakeel Ahmed, a shopkeeper on Multan Road.

In his defence, LWMC chairman Malik Amjad Ali Noon says that the company has saved the national exchequer billions of rupees by not giving extension to the Turkish contractors.

He says that the new agreement shall be made in Pakistani currency.

Noon also says that the LWMC shall fulfill all its legal and contractual obligations. “Four extensions have been awarded without getting new surety bonds and guarantees. This is illegal. Those who did that shall have to face the music.”

He adds that a number of objections raised in forensic audit also needed to be cleared.

“The initial hard time is over now, and things are getting back to normal,” he declares.

Noon also speaks of “strict internal accountability process” which has been initiated — “All those in the company [LWMC] who obliged the Turkish contractors, working against the contract/agreement, shall be taken to task.”

A majority of the people interviewed by the scribe are of the view that waste collection and disposal aren’t the only services that have been discontinued. The LWMC should also start door-to-door collection of waste, road washing and sweeping, which were stopped after the expiry of contract with the Turkish companies.

The writer is a  reporter at The News