Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif has given officials seven days to secure enough staff and machinery for the Suthra Punjab programme. She also directed them to remove underperforming private contractors and activate self-operated services within the same period.
Speaking at a special meeting in Lahore on the province’s sanitation arrangements, she asked for a detailed micro-plan covering cleanliness across Punjab and a progress report by next week. The meeting reviewed sanitation companies, waste collection and transport, workforce availability and field monitoring.
Performance thresholds for sanitation contractors
The chief minister told authorities to roll out the Suthra Punjab beat system across the province within seven days. Companies delivering below 80 per cent performance in any tehsil will receive warnings, while those scoring under 50 percent are to be removed.
She also ordered the termination of non-performing private firms and the activation of self-operated sanitation services within a week.
Unpaid wages and rural cleanliness measures
Stressing the rights of sanitation workers, she told officials to clear their outstanding dues, with arrears to be recovered from the defaulting company. Workers, she said, should not bear the cost of contractors’ unpaid liabilities, and she called for a legal mechanism to guarantee timely salaries.
In rural areas, villages must be cleaned at least on alternate days and accumulated garbage removed. She also sought weekly, detailed reports on staffing, beat-level machinery and field monitoring officers in every tehsil. The meeting was told that assistant commissioners and Suthra Punjab in-charges in each tehsil would be held responsible for service failures.
Anti-littering squads and district recognition
Anti-littering squads are operating in every division of the province and have conducted 264,000 visits, the meeting heard. During these visits, warnings were issued and awareness was raised about violations of sanitation standard operating procedures.
The chief minister reviewed cleanliness reports from several tehsils and commended Chakwal Deputy Commissioner Sarah Hayat and her team for the district’s performance. The meeting also considered a proposal for a dedicated mobile application for Suthra Punjab workers.
