LARKANA: Sindh Minister for Local Bodies Saeed Ghani has said that they are facing difficulties in lifting and disposing of waste in some districts after having sacked ad hoc employees from municipal corporations on the directives of judicial commission on water and drainage.

Mr Ghani told journalists after a meeting with Larkana mayor, deputy commissioner and heads of different departments at circuit house here on Sunday that an advertisement had been placed in newspapers inviting applications for recruitment of sanitation workers and other municipal employees.

He said the department was introducing the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board in Larkana to resolve the city’s sanitation issues. The board would help clean the city, he said.

The board’s managing director was coming to Larkana next week to review issues of waste management. He would also meet elected representatives and get their feedback, he said.

Mr Ghani said the government was determined to serve masses and hence it had now allowed all union councils, town committees and other local government bodies to execute development works without getting approval from the minister and the secretary.

However, such works would be monitored by the Sindh Local Government Commission along with divisional directorates. They would both keep an eye on the municipal bodies and the commission would send reports to the chief minister for further action, he said.

He said in answer to a question about removal of encroachments that the campaign had been launched. The department also sought help from Rangers and police from time to time in its anti-encroachment drives, he said, adding that the government would surely grant compensation if an encroacher had valid documents of the property.

He said that mayor, DC and other stakeholders would finalise strategy for anti-encroachment drive, which would start within a week’s time.

Asked about non-payment of salaries to 55 municipal employees, the minister said the matter was currently with National Accountability Bureau and Sindh High Court. But despite that, he said, the government would try its level best to find out a solution to the problem.

He said that at present, there were thousands of such employees in the province. A group of affected employees protested before the minister and appealed to him to resolve their problem. “We don’t want to render anyone jobless,” said the minister.

He assured the protesters of resolving their issue as soon as possible and said that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto- Zardari and Ms Faryal Talpur had directed him to immediately resolve their problem.

He urged people to cooperate with municipal managers in their efforts to keep the city clean.

Earlier, Larkana Mayor Mohammad Aslam Shaikh and DC Mohammad Noman Siddiq briefed the minister about the menace of encroachment and other civic problems of the city. The minister also met chairmen of union councils who apprised him of the issues of insanitation and shortage of municipal workers.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018