Amritsar MP Amarinder Singh today offered to provide money from his Local Area Development Fund for setting up a garbage disposal and treatment plant in the city.
He said the expenditure involved in setting up a treatment plant is too huge to be sufficed by the MPLAD fund but he can still make a substantial contribution from Rs 5 crores granted to the MP every year in case the state government takes an initiative.
"Since the Punjab government is almost bankrupt and has no money of its own, the MPs across the state could come forward to provide substantial grants in their respective areas so that the garbage disposal problem is solved permanently," Amarinder said in a statement here.
The former Chief Minister said he will take up the matter with the Central government particularly the Union Urban Development Ministry and expressed confidence of getting substantial grants for this purpose with the MPs' initiatives, it said.
He said there was no reason why the central and state governments should not pool in their resources for cleaning of the cities particularly when they were so vigorously campaigning for the "Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan".
Talking specifically about the Bagtanwala garbage dump in Amritsar, the MP said he was closely following the matter at various levels.
He said he had made it a priority that the garbage disposal in the holy city is done in a clean, sophisticated and hygienic manner.
"I hope to see Amritsar as a model city for whole of Punjab in handling its waste and garbage," he said.
