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 set up, while the Murree-Kotli Sattian Development Authority will be established in the two hill 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 such agencies in Punjab has increased to 18, 13 of which have been established during the tenure of the current Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz.
In Murree and the two other newly announced districts, the appointment of Managing Directors and senior officials is to be finalised within the next 72 hours. For the post of MD, panels of three shortlisted candidates have already been submitted to the government.
Previously, WASA offices operated only in five major cities — Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and Multan. In the first phase of the present government, 10 additional WASAs were created in Jhelum, Sialkot, Okara, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Jhang, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Hafizabad, and Sahiwal, all of which are now fully operational.
The latest expansion extends coverage to Murree, Gujrat, and Sheikhupura, while proposals have also been tabled for the establishment of WASA in three further cities.
The objective of setting up new WASA and PHA offices is to enhance sanitation and drainage systems and to improve urban beautification, thereby aligning these cities with the standards of more developed urban centres.
As a result of this latest decision, all three districts of the Rawalpindi Division — Rawalpindi, Murree, and Jhelum — are now served by WASA.
Meanwhile, following the announcement of WASA and PHA in Murree, lobbying and political manoeuvring have begun among officers from Rawalpindi, Jhelum, and Lahore for key appointments.
