Punjab Sanitation Policy on the cards, PA told

Punjab Minister for Housing Urban Development and Public Health Engineering Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed said maiden Punjab Sanitation Policy would be presented in next cabinet meeting and after getting approval it would be promulgated as the policy was ready now.Responding to questions raised by the MPAs during question hour session on Housing Urban Development and PHED, he said that the first draft of the policy was initiated in 2010 which was sent to the cabinet for approval by the department. However, it could not become the part of the cabinet meeting agenda, while in 2018 Housing Urban Development and PHED on the instruction of the planning and development department sent for PWDP approval.Responding to questions raised by the MPAs during question hour session, the minister admitted that number of issues faced by the water and sanitation schemes in the Punjab as the municipal committees were not taking over the ownerships of these scheme, besides the local government department due to resources and funds issues. Both MCs and LG departments were not allocated funds for operation and maintenance of the water and sanitation schemes in Punjab due to which these schemes were not operational or facing other issues. He said the system was not working properly.MPA Ayub Khan raised the question that urban water supply scheme completed in TT Singh in 2017 was closed after six months working due to which stomach diseases were increased. PA Speaker Pervaiz Elahi observed that the operation and maintenance funds should not be given to the MC and elected members for established schemes. He said due to their influence these funds diverted to other schemes by the elected councillors which affected the developed schemes while the municipal departments continued bills recovery on non-provided facilities.MPA Saeed Akbar Nawani on supplementary question asked that if the govt would be unable to conduct local government election for next one or two years then what would be the fate of these established water and sanitation schemes as the public would remain suffering, the minister said that the government was managing existing schemes while working to add operation and maintenance cost for six months to one year in the construction cost of ongoing schemes which were in completion phase. Former Speaker PA, MPA Rana Iqbal in supplementary question observed that 80 percent of water and sanitation schemes were non-functional across the Punjab. MPA Bilal Farooq Tarar raised the questions that the PTI government allocated minimal resources to the ongoing schemes of water and sanitation started in the PML-N government which was affecting the civic services. The minister said that the government set its priorities and was allocating the resources to ongoing scheme in accordance with the priorities. MPA Saeed Akbar Nawani asked the fate of the schemes launched by the PML-N govt during the last year of its tenure in which every member schemes worth up to Rs100m was approved while some 2 to 3 million were allocated and released to these schemes. The minister responded these schemes created problems for the new govt as the PML-N govt launched billions of rupees schemes before the election. —

from The News International - Lahore https://ift.tt/2EDLOZi