LAHORE, Jul 03 (APP):A World Bank delegation headed by Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist Mohammad Farhanullah Sami called on Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique at the Civil Secretariat, here on Wednesday.
Secretary Local Government Shakeel Ahmed Mian, P&D Chief Officer Ahmed Rajwana and Special Secretary Asia Gul also attended the meeting.During the meeting, progress in the Punjab Rural Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation Project (PRSWSSP) was discussed.
The provincial minister informed the delegation about the various projects of the government and said that PRSWSSP was a very good project of the World Bank under which all facilities were being provided to 200 villages of 16 tehsils of Punjab. He expressed his satisfaction over the fact that the world bank had expressed its willingness to extend the scope of these facilities to 2 thousand villages of the same tehsils. Zeeshan Rafique said that the expansion of the scope of the World Bank program will benefit more population. “The World Bank’s support in issues like clean water, sanitation, stunting in villages is commendable”, he praised.
He said that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif wanted to implement a uniform sanitation system throughout Punjab. “For this purpose, the Punjab government is outsourcing the solid waste management system”, he said. The Local Government Minister said that if possible, the World Bank should spend the special funds for sanitation under PRSWSSP for other facilities.
On this occasion, Secretary Local Government Shakeel Ahmed Mian said that the experience of the pilot project should be extended by the World Bank to other areas as well. “Reaching a larger population may yield better results”, he observed.
The head of the World Bank delegation, Farhanullah Sami, while appreciating the performance of the PRSWSSP pilot program under the supervision of the Punjab government, indicated that the World Bank would start Punjab Rural Support Program 2 in the future. He said that he agreed with the words of the provincial minister to benefit the larger population. “Proposals in this regard will be sent to the World Bank’s Board, which will take the final decision”, he said.
