LWMC has received Rs 53b loan from Punjab govt since 2010

LAHORE:Since its incorporation in 2010 till date, Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) got a total loan of Rs 53 billion from the Punjab government.

Statistics collected from the company sources revealed that if compared, out of this total load of Rs 53 billion, the present PTI government got highest loans as Rs 9.6 billion loan was given to LWMC in 2018-2019 and Rs 7.569 billion was given to the company in 2019-2020.

The statistics further revealed that in 2020-21 (July to September 2020), the Punjab government has provided a loan of Rs 2.401 billion to the LWMC.

City District Government Lahore (CDGL) established LWMC under section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 on 19th March 2010. The company is limited by guarantee having no share capital and is formed not for profit within the meaning of Section-42 of the Companies Ordinance. The LMWC is governed by a Board of Directors (BODs), headed by a Chairman.

Through an agreement called SAAMA (Services and Asset Management Agreement), all the functions and assets of SWM department of CDGL and the TMAs has been entrusted to LWMC. LWMC aims to develop an integrated system of solid waste management to ensure efficient collection, transportation, recovery, treatment and disposal of the waste generated in Lahore. The company was formed with a vision, “Transformation of Lahore as one of the cleanest cities in the world by providing customised solutions in the consultation with citizens and private partners to ensure sustainable, safe, clean and green environment,” said a senior LWMC official, adding the waste to energy was one of the prime jobs of the company but no practical step has been taken to achieve this goal in a decade.

Company statistics revealed that in 2010-2011, a loan of Rs 230 million was given to the company, in 2011-2012, a loan of Rs 4.030 billion was given, in the year 2012-2013, LWMC got Rs 2.908 billion, in the year 2013-2014, the company got a loan of Rs 4.380 billion, in 2014-2015 the Punjab government provided Rs 5.232 billion to the company as loan, in 2015-2016 the company got Rs 5.500 billion as loan from the government, in 2016-2017 the government gave Rs 5.500 billion as loan to the company and in the year 2017-2018 the Punjab government gave Rs 5.734 billion.

When contacted, Provincial Secretary Local Government Javed Qazi said that collection of solid waste from the provincial metropolis came under essential services, which a government provided to its citizens. He said these services should be charged from the citizens so that they stop throwing waste on the roads as well as wherever they want to. The citizens should be sensitised about their responsibilities and they should act like a responsible citizen. Talking about the total loan of Rs 53 billion, hesaid that the previous government didn’t allow to levy any waste collection charges on the citizens but the present government has constituted a Resource Mobilization Committee to give its recommendations over this issue. He said another committee under Dr Salman Shah has also asked all the waste management companies to prepare Resource Generation Plans and the companies have almost made their plans in this regard.

Provincial Secretary Local Government further said that when citizens were not paying for the services then the government has to pay. “Actually it is a grant but in legal words it is called a loan,” he said adding in this fiscal year LWMC will start generating its own revenue and when it stood on its feet it will start paying back the loan to the government.