02 March 2004	Tuesday	10 Muharram 1425

LAHORE, March 1: Only graveyards and roadsides are available for collection of solid waste in the LDA housing schemes due to unrealistic town planning.

The Solid Waste Management of the City District Government stated this in its reply to a petition filed by an advocate with regard to the absence of waste collection and disposal facilities in the Sabzazar Scheme in the Punjab Environment Tribunal.

The LDA admitted that it had not provided spots for solid waste collection in Gulberg, Samanabad, Shadman, Shah Jamal, Allama Iqbal Town, Johar Town, Model Town Extension and Faisal Town where SWM had place skips along the roads. It was not possible for the authority to provide spaces for solid waste in the old schemes.

In its reply, the SWM pointed out that it required a 10-marla plot for collection of waste of every 1,000 houses but the LDA had not bothered to make such spaces available in its schemes.

The SWM pointed out that it was placing its skips in open plots and along the roadsides in the LDA schemes at present. The number of open plots was reducing with the passage of time due to construction of buildings and the people did not like placing of skips along the roads near their houses.

Graveyard was the other place left for use as garbage collection points in the long run as the dead would not protest against placing of skips there.