ABBOTTABAD: The Water and Sanitation Services Authority Abbottabad has demanded of the local government department to direct the project management unit of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cities Improvement project to include the Integrated Solid Waste Management Abbottabad in the upcoming bidding process on a priority basis.

In a letter to the LG secretary, Wassa CEO Rehan Yousafsaid the commissioner of Hazara Division had already called for the prioritisation of the ISWM sub-project of KPCIP Abbottabad considering the city’s dire need after the high court ordered a halt to the disposal of Abbottabad city’s garbage at the Salhad dumping site.

He said the Wassa needed “necessary guidance for the ultimate resolution” of the issue.

Mr Rehan proposed the early execution of the ISWM sub-project.

“For ISWM component of KPCIP Abbottabad, 416 kanals of land has been acquired for a purpose-built facility for solid waste management in Abbottabad. However, as informed by the PMU-KPCIP, the ISWM sub-project is not included in the upcoming bidding process, which is tentatively scheduled to start next year,” he said.

The CEO added that if the situation persisted, then the authority won’t be able to defend the review application in the court as it had already submitted its response declaring that the project was to be tendered at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the Wassa CEO, in another letter to the local government department, said the provincial cabinet, in its 78thmeeting, approved the extension of his organisation’s jurisdiction to 23 more village councils along with the additional cost of Rs254.963 million.

He said the case should be taken up with the finance department for the resolution of the cleanliness issues.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2023