The City District Government Lahore (CDGL) and Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) signed an agreement on Saturday to formally hand over the control of CDGL's Solid Waste Management wing to the company. Administrator/DCO Lahore, Ahad Khan Cheema and company's MD Wasim Ajmal Chaudhry inked an agreement in the presence of Commissioner Lahore Nadeem Hassan Asif.
Briefing the media, the commissioner Lahore said in the past the city government made a significant investment in solid waste management, but the desired results were not achieved and this step could remove the loopholes in the working of the Solid Waste Management Department. He said the city remained unclean and the problem of drains blockage, caused by garbage still persisted. "The only way to overcome the problem was to set up a company that should be run by energetic professionals.
The DCO Lahore told the newsmen that the agreement is for 20 years, under which the Solid Waste Management's assets will be given to the company on a lease. It may be mentioned that under the agreement the management of the Solid Waste Management Department is transferred to the company, which is an autonomous body. The company has the powers to formulate policies and strategies with the aim of improving solid waste management in the city.
After the agreement, the company will be responsible for managing and monitoring existing procedures, activities, facilities, operations and assets of the city government directly or indirectly related to generation, collection, separation, storage, reuse, recycling, transportation, transfer, reduction, treatment and disposal of solid waste.