Islamabad: A comprehensive water conservation plan for Rawalpindi and Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been requested by Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Prof Ahsan Iqbal.
While chairing a workshop organized by the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives in collaboration with Agerance Française Development (AFD), the minister made these remarks.
A model of municipal service delivery in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad was presented as an example of the institutional and governance models of municipal service delivery in Pakistan’s urban cities.
With the growing population, the water is diminishing day by day, and the twin-cities need to develop a comprehensive plan to conserve the water,” he said, stressing the importance of conserving water.
Water and sanitation officials from all provinces attended the workshop as well as representatives from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Member Environment.
As part of its role as a coordination platform, the Ministry is facilitating knowledge sharing between all stakeholders, while AFD is providing technical assistance on “Assessing Municipal Services in Islamabad and Proposing an Institutional Solution.”.
Sadly, no mechanism exists to prevent water wastage, according to the minister. In the coming years, water shortage will be a major issue, and an immediate action plan is urgently needed, according to the minister while directing the authorities to make one immediately.
As a result, across the world, governments collect water taxes, which leads to consumers using water wisely, while in Pakistan there is no check and balance, resulting in huge amounts of water being wasted.
He also emphasized the importance of sewage treatment plants and called on the authorities to build such plants so used water could be recycled. Apart from governance issues, there are also behavior issues that need to be changed, according to the minister.
In Pakistan, water waste is a major problem, but people do not change their behaviors to address it, he said. It was stated that Islamabad’s municipal services are not comparable to those of world capitals planned in the future.
There are many factors contributing to dismal municipal service delivery in Pakistan’s capital city, including the complex, fragmented, and vague institutional and governance structures that hinder accountability, leading to duplication and poor coordination.
Municipal service delivery currently operates in a crisis management mode, hindering the ability of staff to plan, innovate, and incorporate (cutting-edge technological and ICT solutions) into service delivery.
Read more news on property buy rent
