PESHAWAR: E-bidding and tendering system has been introduced in the Public Health Engineering Department while such Work Order system will be introduced to ensure efficiency and transparency in all the official matters of the department.
This was told in a meeting of Public Health Engineering Department, chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to review the reform initiatives taken by the department, said an official handout.
The forum was told that a total of 154 developmental schemes were being executed throughout the province. As many as 17 schemes out of total 69 due for completion schemes have been completed, adding the master plan has been prepared for the settled areas whereas the master plan for merged areas was in progress.
It was added that the purchase of equipment has been completed and hiring of required staff is in progress for introducing Geographic Information System (GIS) in the department.
The restructuring of the department is also in progress to enhance its overall working capacity, and under the restructuring of the department, additional 53 officers along with other supporting staff have been hired and posted to districts and tehsil level across the province.
The meeting was told that under the solarisation project, more than 1200 water supply schemes were solarized whereas work on other 250 drinking water supply schemes was in progress.
It was informed that citizen facilitation centres have been established in Peshawar, Mardan and Abbottabad as a pilot project adding that eight water quality monitoring labs at each PHE circle and eight mobile water quality labs have been established while establishment of three water quality monitoring labs in merged areas was in progress.
A Quick Response Unit has been established in Swat as a pilot project and on successful results, the same will be replicated in other PHE divisions. Establishment of wastewater treatment plan in DI Khan is included in the draft of ADP 2021-22 if successful the same would be extended to Mardan and Charsadda.
The chief minister while expressing satisfaction over the reform initiatives taken so far directed the officials to prepare a realistic and viable master plan to resolve the drinking water supply issues on sustainable basis in southern districts