LAHORE: Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz stated that hygiene needs to be maintained within co-operative housing societies and privately-owned housing societies. She directed concerned officials to enhance the effectiveness of the Suthra Punjab program throughout Punjab. This decision was made as part of an overall review exercise to tighten hygiene requirements in several other categories of both public and private areas in Punjab.
The Chief Minister (CM) chaired a meeting on Saturday and mandated the uniform adoption of dustbins and garbage bags throughout all markets and bazaars. Moreover, specific hours have been designated for the disposal of waste within commercial zones, seeking predictability in handling waste in crowded commercial zones.
These directives are aimed at standardizing procedures related to handling waste in bustling commercial areas. This is expected to facilitate effective management and disposal of waste within such zones.
In his orders issued in the early hours of Thursday morning, the Chief Minister instructed cleaners to begin work at 5am to clean the city’s main roads. However, he made it clear that they should not confine themselves to main roads but must undertake cleaning operations throughout residential streets, neighbourhoods, and even vacant lands.
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Punjab CM Orders Cleanliness: Door-to-Door Collection and Monitoring Oversight
The Chief Minister of Punjab instructed that efforts to improve sanitation be linked to the welfare of employees as well. According to her directives, salaries of Suthra Punjab workers must now be paid by the fifth of each month, while she sought monthly updates on worker salaries from relevant firms. In another directive, she instructed prompt settlement of dues owed to Suthra Punjab contractors, adding swift action in case of delayed worker salaries.
Under her instructions, the CM said that household waste pickup should be ensured throughout Punjab, Punjab CM orders cleanliness, adding that she wants the situation regarding cleanliness to be monitored by additional deputy commissioners (social welfare) in each district on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, she has instructed that worker and machine requirements should be assessed based on the actual need of each locality, rather than adopting the same formula for everywhere.
The orders also included cleaning efforts within educational institutions, healthcare facilities, parks, and greenbelts, with particular emphasis placed on the collection of discarded bottles, juice packs, and other forms of trash from such sites. This clearly indicates an intention to address spaces where large numbers of people congregate on a daily basis.
As part of the initiative, the chief minister issued an instruction to clean the railway track sides in urban areas throughout the province, emphasizing the need to clean all entries and exits of cities every day and without fail. Such areas usually provide the initial impression to tourists and passengers, thus becoming significant from the perspective of overall cleanliness initiatives.
Deputy commissioners were advised to ensure ongoing coordination with relevant contractors and managing directors of Wasa – the water and sanitation department. It was also decided to provide uniformed clothing to field monitors and brand their motorcycles to enhance visibility. This decision comes after the Chief Minister’s direction in April 2026.
As per orders issued by the CM, SOPs must be drawn to evaluate the performances of the employees working at Suthra Punjab, right from laborers to supervisors, keeping particular emphasis on hygiene conditions prevailing within vegetable and fruit markets. Wherever SOP violations come into play, it was ordered that contractors would be granted 24 hours' notice period before being levied with any penalty.
"The goal here isn’t penalization; what we want is hygiene,” the CM explained.
The CM made it clear that no mercy shall be shown towards contractors that repeatedly fail to deliver on performance metrics associated with the Suthra Punjab initiative.
The chief minister has instructed that Suthra Punjab’s vehicles, containers, and garbage pick-up sites should be regularly cleaned. According to the chief minister, even equipment used for clean-up purposes needs to maintain high levels of hygiene standards. The chief minister emphasized that directives issued during this session needed to be implemented quickly and announced another review meeting within seven days.