Faisalabad: Provincial Minister for Local Government Mian Zeeshan Rafique on Tuesday said that Clean Punjab (Suthra Punjab) program would be implemented in letter and spirit under outsourcing system.
Presiding over a meeting here, he said that Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Maryam Nawaz was committed to ensuring a clean and green Punjab and in this connection no negligence, lethargy or delinquency would be tolerated at any cost.
He said that the outsourcing system must deliver visible results. He urged the deputy commissioners, local parliamentarians and party ticket holders to take ownership of the 'Clean Punjab' program and ensure its success.
He made it clear that there was no room for failure and the contractors failing to deliver would face strict accountability including penalties if the cleaning systems in outsourced areas did not improve by January 11. The contracts would not only be canceled but the machinery would also be confiscated and the contractors would be blacklisted if failed to deliver tangible results, he warned.
The minister directed to form committees at union council level to develop a comprehensive cleaning mechanism for complete elimination of public complaints about cleanliness.
He also advised the contractors to tighten monitoring of their teams while waste management companies were directed to oversee cleanliness on the main roads directly.
He stressed the need to bring change in social attitudes for improving cleanliness and in this connection the religious leaders should also be encouraged to promote awareness about cleanliness during Friday sermons.
The minister announced personal field visits to monitor progress of Suthra Punjab program and directed the monitoring teams to be actively visible during inspections.
He urged the local parliamentarians and party ticket holders to ensure success of the outsourcing system and directed to initiate work during second shift to improve efficiency of the program.
Divisional Commissioner Madam Silwat Saeed said that implementation of Suthra Punjab program would be ensured in toto across the division. She said that more than 100,000 tons litter and waste material were collected from the division up till now in addition to dumping it properly. She said that containers were placed at necessary points in addition to activating hand-carts and rickshaws in the streets whereas control rooms were also made functional for proper monitoring of vehicles and sanitary workers. The door-to-door cleanliness drive would also started very soon in addition to ensuring mechanical washing of the roads on daily basis, she added.
Local parliamentarians and party ticket-holders including Chaudhry Shehbaz Babar, Qudsia Batool, Sheikh Ejaz Ahmad, Mian Tahir Jameel, Faqeer Hussain Dogar, Ali Gohar Baloch, Mian Irfan Mannan, Rana Ali Abbas, Mian Ajmal Asif, Mian Qasim Farooq, Mian Zia-ur-Rehman, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Faisalabad Captain (Retired) Nadeem Nasir, CEO Faisalabad Waste Management Company (FWMC) Rauf Ahmad and others were also present in the meeting while deputy commissioners of Jhang, Toba Tek Singh and Chiniot joined it through video link.