CM seeks comprehensive province-wide cleanliness plan, progress report

LAHORE, Oct 13 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has set a seven-day deadline for implementing the Suthra Punjab beat system across the province and ordered the removal of non-performing private companies.

She also directed the authorities concerned to ensure payment of outstanding dues to sanitation workers and recover their dues from defaulting companies.

Chairing a special meeting to review the Suthra Punjab programme here on Monday, the CM sought a comprehensive micro-plan for cleanliness across Punjab and directed officials to ensure the availability of the required workforce and machinery within a week. She also sought a complete progress report on the programme across the province by next week.

CM Maryam Nawaz said sanitation workers would not be allowed to suffer because of outstanding payments owed by contractors. The meeting agreed to recover workers’ dues from defaulting Suthra Punjab companies, while the chief minister directed officials to find a legal mechanism for ensuring timely payment of salaries and outstanding dues to the workers. She ordered the removal of non-performing private companies and directed the authorities to make self-operations fully functional within a week as an alternative arrangement.

The CM directed that Suthra Punjab companies achieving less than 80 per cent performance in any tehsil should be issued warnings, while those performing below 50 per cent should be removed. She also ordered the introduction of the beat system across Punjab within seven days to improve monitoring and service delivery.

CM Maryam Nawaz sought detailed weekly reports from every tehsil on human resources, beat-wise machinery deployment and field monitoring officers. She directed that cleanliness in rural areas be ensured at least on alternate days and that garbage heaps be cleared without delay.

According to the briefing, the relevant assistant commissioner and Suthra Punjab in-charge in each tehsil would be held responsible for failures in cleanliness arrangements. The meeting also reviewed the waste collection and transportation flow system and considered a proposal to introduce a dedicated application for Suthra Punjab workers.

The meeting was informed that anti-littering squads had been activated in every division of Punjab and had conducted 264,000 visits. The squads issued warnings for violations of cleanliness standard operating procedures and raised public awareness about proper waste disposal.

During the meeting, the CM reviewed cleanliness reports from different tehsils and appreciated Deputy Commissioner Chakwal Sarah Hayat and her team for the improved cleanliness situation in the district.