Suthra Punjab Authority Plans Waste Collection Charges for Hospitals, Markets and Housing Societies
- Suthra Punjab Authority plans to collect waste charges from hospitals, railway colonies, Ring Road, markets and private housing societies in return for sanitation services.
- Excise and Taxation Department will collect waste tax in urban areas, while contractors will handle collections in rural areas.
- The authority was expected to collect Rs70 billion across Punjab but managed to recover only around Rs1 billion.
- More than 300 private housing schemes have been identified in an initial survey conducted in Lahore.
The Suthra Punjab Authority has prepared a new business plan aimed at overcoming its financial difficulties and generating revenue from sanitation and waste management services across the province.
Under the plan, waste charges will be collected from government and private hospitals, railway colonies, the Ring Road Authority, food and vegetable markets and private housing societies in return for providing cleaning services and transporting waste to designated dumping points.
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The Suthra Punjab Authority was established by the Punjab government to extend sanitation facilities to rural areas on the pattern of cities. According to the report, more than Rs90 billion has been spent on the initiative, including expenditure to address shortages of sanitation workers, machinery and other resources.
The authority was originally tasked with collecting around Rs70 billion in waste charges from across Punjab to help cover the programme’s operating expenses. However, it has so far managed to collect only around Rs1 billion, leaving the authority facing financial difficulties.
Following a joint meeting of the authority’s Director General and chief executive officers posted in different districts, a revised collection mechanism has been planned. The Excise and Taxation Department will collect waste tax in urban areas, while contractors will be responsible for collections in rural areas.
The authority will also generate revenue by providing waste collection and disposal services to public and private hospitals, railway facilities, the Ring Road Authority, private housing schemes and food and vegetable markets.
An initial survey in Lahore has identified more than 300 private housing schemes where contractors are reportedly collecting waste and disposing of it on government land. The authority plans to bring these schemes within its system and charge them for proper waste disposal services.
The additional revenue from these institutions, alongside regular waste-tax collections from residents, is intended to make the sanitation programme financially sustainable and reduce the authority’s financial pressure.
Suthra Punjab Authority Director General Umar Javed said work on the business plan had begun. He said that, in line with Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s vision, the government was working to provide rural communities with sanitation facilities similar to those available in urban areas.
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