Rawalpindi:
The Punjab governor has formally issued a notification for the establishment of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) in the newly created tourist district of Murree, along with three additional districts.
In Murree, a parks and horticulture authority (PHA) is also being established, while the Murree-Kotli Sattian Development Authority will be established in the two Tehsils of the new district to promote and develop tourism. The notification for the latter is expected in September.
With the addition of these three wasas, the total number of these agencies in Punjab has increased to 18, 13 of which have been established during the mandate of the current main minister, Maryam Nawaz.
In Murree and the other two newly announced districts, the appointment of managing directors and senior officials will end in the next 72 hours. For the MD position, the panels of three preselected candidates have already presented themselves to the Government.
Previously, Wasa offices operated only in five important cities: Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and fine. In the first phase of the current government, 10 additional wasas were created in Jhelum, Sialkot, Okara, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Jhang, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Hafizabad and Sahiwal, all of whom are now completely operational.
The last expansion extends the coverage to Murree, Gujrat and Sheikhupura, while the proposals have also been presented for the WASA establishment in three additional cities.
The objective of establishing new WASA and PHA offices is to improve sanitation and drainage systems and improve urban beautification, thus aligning these cities with the standards of more developed urban centers.
As a result of this last decision, Wasa now attends to the three districts of the Rawalpindi Division, Rawalpindi, Murree and Jhelum.
Meanwhile, after the announcement of Wasa and Pha in Murree, the lobbying and the political maneuver have begun between Rawalpindi, Jhelum and Lahore officers for key appointments.
