PESHAWAR, May 24: The NWFP government has formulated its first sanitation policy in collaboration with the World Bank, which will be approved by the provincial cabinet after incorporating feedback from the Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs).

The policy will be implemented under an action plan for which the World Bank has assured financial and technical assistance, NWFP Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (LG&RD) Sardar Muhammad Idrees told a meeting here on Thursday.

The meeting, attended by NWFP Secretary for LG&RD Dr Hammad Agha, was convened to discuss the draft policy.

The minister said the policy had been drafted in line with the national policy but the federal government should lend resources according to local needs instead of imposing its policies and decisions upon the province.

Underlining the need for TMAs’ autonomy, he said the same was necessary for improving the civic facilities. He added that there was a need to institute a system of checks and balances at the TMAs level.

Mr Idrees claimed that he had approached the chief minister and the finance minister for allocating resources in the budget for the sanitation plan.

He said that Rs70 million would be set aside in the next budget for reward and motivation purposes to ensure effective sanitation through TMAs and the community.

The LG&RD Secretary, Dr Hammad Agha, Secretary Local Council Board Rehmat Ghazi, World Bank’s sanitation experts Masroor Ahmad, Mark Ellery, Farooq Abbasi, Project Director RWSS Asmatullah Gandapur, and Director General EPA Dr Bashir Ahmad also spoke at the meeting.