Senior Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, alongside Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique, held a detailed press conference on Saturday, highlighting the performance of the provincial cleanliness drive under the “Suthra Punjab” initiative and outlining future expansion plans.
Marriyum Aurangzeb said the Suthra Punjab Authority has “set an exemplary record” in maintaining sanitation across districts, tehsils and union councils, adding that the provincial leadership had taken “major and unprecedented steps” to improve cleanliness standards across the province.
She praised the flagship sanitation program led by Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, stating that the system had been effectively implemented across urban and rural areas. She added that the chief minister personally reviewed arrangements even after undergoing surgery and continued to take an interest in public service matters during her recovery period at Sharif Medical City.
The minister said the sanitation workforce played a central role in the Eid-ul-Adha cleanliness operation, describing them as “real heroes” who worked in multiple shifts for 72 hours, cleaning mosques, streets, neighbourhoods, and cemeteries across Punjab. She added that 40,000 litres of rose water were sprayed during the operation and mosques were cleaned before Eid prayers to ensure a pleasant environment for worshippers.
According to official figures shared during the briefing, more than 600,000 kilometres were covered by sanitation machinery, 376,000 tons of waste were collected compared to 357,000 tons last year, and over 12.2 million waste bags were distributed among citizens. Additionally, around 41,582 complaints were received through the helpline system.
Marriyum Aurangzeb stated that modern monitoring systems, including Safe City surveillance, district monitoring units, WASA coordination, and drone-based inspections, were used for the first time to supervise cleanliness operations at the tehsil level. She said a uniform sanitation system had been implemented across villages, towns and cities.
She also announced that Suthra Punjab has been structured into three phases, with ongoing work on waste-to-energy and biogas projects, including a pilot phase that has been completed and is now moving toward implementation in collection systems. She further stated that landfill projects such as Mehmood Booti are being developed as model sites at an international standard.
The minister said the government is also planning to expand facilities such as slaughtering points in union councils in the next budget cycle, especially ahead of future Eid-ul-Adha arrangements, to further facilitate citizens.
Highlighting governance and administrative reforms, she said sanitation planning is being coordinated with the private sector, while flood preparedness mechanisms have also been integrated, including zoning systems (red, green, and yellow) for early response.
Marriyum Aurangzeb added that the provincial government remains committed to transparency, claiming that audits have been ordered in various development sectors and recoveries have been made in certain cases. She also said that no corruption exists in the Suthra Punjab initiative, crediting the chief minister’s oversight for ensuring accountability.
She further stated that improvements in healthcare infrastructure, including reforms at Sharif Medical City, reflect broader governance reforms, and reiterated that the chief minister’s health condition had improved following successful medical treatment.
Referring to inter-provincial comparisons, she said that other regions should learn from Punjab’s sanitation model, adding that improved local governance systems could help replicate similar cleanliness standards across the country.
The minister congratulated the provincial leadership and sanitation workers for what she described as the most successful cleanliness operation in Punjab’s history, saying the “Suthra Punjab” vision continues to expand with stronger institutional coordination and public participation.
