Cities are the economic, social and innovative core of Pakistan and it generate most wealth and are home to about 40% of the country’s population. Pakistan’s cities, particularly the intermediate cities, are developing at a fast rate and it has led to the rapid expansion of the urban environment but in an uncoordinated, unplanned and unregulated manner. Water supply, wastewater collection and treatment, storm water drainage, and the urban road networks are increasingly unable to respond to population pressures and economic demands. Furthermore, the residents are suffering from a severe lack of open spaces and civic amenities.
To resolve all these problems Government of the Punjab Introducing Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Program(PICIIP) in Sahiwal, Sialkot, Sargodha, Rahimyar khan, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Rawalpindi with total amount of 800 $ million. PICIIP aims to the urban sector: create world class Infrastructure and services; strengthen systems of urban governess; and significantly improve urban planning and management frame work in Intermediate Cities.
Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Program (PICIIP) aims to improve the efficiency and financial sustainability of intermediate cities and effectiveness of urban services. The focus of PICIIP is on capacity building of Municipal Corporations to improve services of: water supply, sanitation, Sewerage system, sewage treatment, solid waste management, transport infrastructure, which will contribute in enhancing the economic activities strengthen business process, improved community health, and better quality of life of the residents of Sahiwal and Sialkot.
Improved access to clean water includes Rehabilitation of 45 existing tube wells and Boreholes, 09 Overhead water reservoirs. Installation of 39 New Overhead water reservoirs. Installation of new water pipes of 863 Km, Rehabilitation of 20 Filtration plants. Installation of 53 new filtration plants, Up to Two Thousand Fifty Two Metered Domestic/House Connections (2,052) and Installation of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA). It will provide sustained access to clean water to Five Lac Thirty Five Thousand Nine Hundred Twenty Nine (535,929) households.
Construction of Five (05) sewage Pumping stations, Laying of New approx. 167.5 km Sewer Lines. Construction of (2) centralized wastewater treatment plants, it will help safe drainage of sewage water from Ten Lac Twelve Thousand Nine Hundred five (1,012,905) households.
Improved access to urban public spaces , Renovation and upgradation of 6 km streets, 7 km Green belts and trees will be plant on 2.5 km riverbank. It would also assist reducing flood risk to approx. (Forty-Five Thousand) 45,000 households. The green belts, in addition to providing aesthetic pleasure to citizen, will promote healthy environment and serve as carbon sinks and lungs for the cities.
The up gradation of 7 parks in both cities will serve more than five thousand (5,000) families a day by providing them Soft and hard Landscaping with Children Play Area, Jogging Track, Irrigation System, open Gym, Gardener Room , Security Room, Electrification System, Toilet, Kiosks, Plumbing System, Gazebos, Walk ways, fountain, CCTV Cameras, Ticketing Booth, parking areas and cafeterias. It will provide multi-use communal and outdoor spaces to enjoy, play and healthy living environment for all age groups of local community.
Construction of Punjab Local Govt. Academy at Lahore and Rehabilitation of PLGA at Lala Musa is to provide trainings for 10,000 officers from BS11-BS 15 , 1696 officers from BS-16-BS-20 and 122,500 officers from elected representatives from neighborhood and village/Panchayat Council govt. personnel of Punjab. The existing PLGA academy at Lalamusa is also being improved to meet training needs of local government employees. These academies Provide LG personnel a work environment that is conducive to professional development and personal growth for the attainment of LGA's organizational goals and objectives.
Sialkot and Sahiwal faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment and disposal. Current capacity of Municipal Corporation in Sialkot and Sahiwal cannot cope with the volumes of waste generated by an increasing urban population, and this will impact on the environment and public health.
Heaps of garbage is one of the greatest challenges facing Sahiwal and Sialkot that caused poor state of cleanliness in both cities. Improved sanitation operations also provide solid waste management services include collection, segregation, transportation and safe disposal of solid wastes of the cities. Collected garbage will be dumped in Landfills and later these sites will be transformed into parks.
In PICIIP, the machinery for Solid Waste Management and water and sanitation equipment will be purchase to cope all these issues and will give properly engineered waste disposal solution that will protects public health and preserves key environmental resources and will lead to Clean& Green Sialkot and Sahiwal and will lead to dumped in proposed landfilsites. The equipment will collect 171 tons per day in Sahiwal and 450 tons per day in Sialkot. Collection efficiency of solid waste improved by 53% and 78 % in Sahiwal and Sialkot respectively will serve population of 1190,000 in both cities .
The Government of Punjab has realized the importance of making its cities, particularly the intermediate cities, more livable and has put the urban sector at the forefront of its national development strategy. Punjab’s Vision 2030 and Framework for Economic Growth envisage livable cities as engines of national growth and centers of economic activity, culture, and knowledge. The framework also recognized the advantage of the local governments in managing the urban development on the ground, as they are closer to the beneficiary population with an informational advantage in identifying citizens’ preferences, as well as essential flexibilities to respond rapidly to evolving city’s needs. Under these circumstances, the government amended its constitution to decentralize the role of urban services to the provincial which will support key urban sectors including water, sanitation, and urban transport & spaces in the cities of Punjab, Pakistan.