UPPER DIR, Sept 23: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan on Monday said littering in public places would be an offence under the Local Bodies Act 2013 to stop the people from making streets and roads dirty.

He was speaking during a ceremony at the District Headquarters Hospital to begin a cleanliness campaign in Upper Dir district here.

The minister said the use of laws was imperative to check littering in public places and to raise awareness among the people about cleanliness.

The minister said the proposed Local Bodies Act 2013 would have clauses that would criminalise throwing garbage in streets and other public places. He said such laws already existed in the province but had been dormant.

“In addition to enacting new laws, we will make the existing laws effective to discourage people from throwing garbage in the open,” he said.

Mr Inayatullah said the cleanliness campaign in Upper Dir would continue for one week in which garbage would be removed from streets and gutters cleared.

He said his ministry had launched a month-long cleanliness campaign in the province that had started from September 11.

The minister said heaps of garbage dumped in streets and plots and other open spaces were being removed in Peshawar in order to improve cleanliness situation in the city.

“For the first time, the people in the city and newspapers are saying they are seeing cleaned streets and roads all around,” he said.

Mr Inayatullah said the purpose of the one-month campaign to get rid of heaps of garbage that was not being removed in years.

He said the campaign would be held annually.

“This year allocations were not made in the budget for the cleanliness campaign but from next year we will earmark funds for cleanliness,” he said.

The minister said the campaign had two main purposes that included cleaning the city and raising awareness among the people not to litter in the open.

He said the campaign was also aimed at inculcating responsibility in the sanitation staff about their duty.

Mr Inayatullah said he would provide machinery to Upper Dir for cleaning the town.

He directed the district council to ensure that all staff participate in the campaign.

He said daily wagers should be hired for cleanliness if the district council was understaffed.