RAWALPINDI, April 5: The Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) and Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) have accepted to implement institutional reforms as demanded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for providing a $60 million loan for Rawalpindi Environmental Improvement Project (REIP), Dawn has learnt.

According to officials sources, an ADB fact-finding mission had asked the TMA and Wasa to implement some institutional reforms as a precondition for the release of the already approved loan. The bank had also set a deadline of a few weeks in this regard.

Giving details of the reforms, sources said the bank had asked the TMA to build its institutional and financial capacity and to improve its operation through public-private participation, particularly in solid waste management.

The municipal administration was also asked to devolve the solid waste collection system from tehsil to union council level. Besides, the bank had demanded that disposal of solid waste should be undertaken by the private sector.

The sources said grant allocation from the government and revenue collection from the general sales tax were the TMA's main sources of income. The administration obtained the remaining revenue from water charges, taxes and rentals.

However, the TMA's resource mobilization had been limited by week institutional and financial capacity, and the general public's unwillingness to pay for services. Therefore, the bank had asked the administration to reorganize its set-up by recruiting trained staff and providing training to the existing employees.

The ADB, the sources said, had also asked Wasa to conduct a fresh survey of the old city areas and the localities recently included in the agency's jurisdiction for forming a new consumers' database.

They said during the recently-completed Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Project, Wasa's efficiency in collection of water and sanitation bills had increased from 51 per cent in 1998/99 to 61 per cent in 2000/2001. However, the recovery again decreased to 44 per cent in 2003/2004. Moreover, agency's arrears that amounted to Rs28.4 million in 1998/99, increased to Rs77.4 million in 2002/2003.

The low recovery was due to the shortage of the staff required for the purpose, and inefficiency of the existing staff and that of public complaint cells, the source said.

Therefore, the ADB had asked Wasa to improve its bills' collection efficiency to 80 per cent by March 2005 by recruiting qualified staff, activating the existing four complaint cells, establishing three more cells, and following more aggressive policy against illegal-connection holders and defaulters.