‘Govt plans to expand service of WSSP to 23 semi-urban UCs’

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra on Tuesday said that government would expand the service network of Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) to 23 semi-urban union councils in the provincial metropolis.

Speaking at an event held here, the minister said the government would allocate Rs1 billion additional amount for the purpose. Apart from officials of Peshawar Development Authority and WSSP, Members Provincial Assembly Fazal Ilahi, Malik Wajid, Arbab Jehandad, Pir Fida and Engr Muhammad Fahim and chairman Board of Directors Haji Muhammad Javid also attended the event.

Taimur Saleem Jhagra also handed over new solid waste collection machinery to WSSP. The minister said that the decision to expand services to WSSP was taken in light of the company’s performance. He said the company had improved its services and urged the masses to cooperate with sanitation staff and keep their surroundings clean. He said that the government had allocated additional funds and machinery to equip sanitation companies to ensure cleanliness of the city. Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Local Government Elections and Rural Development Department (LGE&RDD) Kamran Bangash said that provincial government was committed to improving basic infrastructure.

The government was working on a plan to improve capacity of departments that will improve service delivery, he said, adding the government launched work of revival of Peshawar’s past glory that would change façade of the city and people would witness the change within six months. He said the government would hand over 700 more waste collection machinery to WSSP in next six months.

Chief Executive Officer Syed Zafar Ali Shah informed the ministers and MPAs that the company had worked on a water and sanitation master plan that would help assess needs of consumers till 2048. “WSSP will replace rusted pipelines throughout the city under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa City Improvement Programme,” he said. He added that WSSP has signed a memorandum of understanding with University of Peshawar for waste segregation and study in this regard was in final stage. Later, the finance minister handed over 500 small waste bins, 200 compactor bins, seven (five cubic meters) arm roll containers, 11 (22 cubic meters) arm roll containers, four (5 cubic meter) skip containers, five multi-loader containers, 21 mini-dumpers and 27 bike loaders.