Punjab’s Cleanliness Drive Shows Ambition, But Behavioural Change Is Missing |
“The largest waste management drive in South Asia will falter unless civic responsibility replaces the culture of normalising cesspools around”
The Punjab government’s Suthra Punjab programme under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif is being hailed as the largest cleanliness and waste management initiative in South Asia. It covers all 36 districts, manages 57,000 tonnes of waste every day, employs more than 150,000 sanitation workers, and operates a fleet of 28,000 vehicles and machines. It digitises service delivery through mobile apps, portals, and helplines, aiming to transform waste management into a modern, transparent system. In its ambition and scale, Suthra Punjab is unprecedented and deserves recognition as a landmark initiative.
Yet, despite its promise, the programme faces the same challenge that crippled earlier efforts such as the Lahore Waste Management Company. LWMC was focused on Lahore alone, outsourcing services to contractors and managing 6,000 to 7,000 tonnes of waste daily. It struggled with sustainability, infringements, and citizen apathy. The outsourcing model created dependency on contractors, while citizens continued to litter and dump waste without restraint. The lesson from LWMC is clear: machinery and manpower cannot keep streets clean if people continue producing filth without restraint and disposing of waste without sense. The government can clean, but only people can keep it clean.
The real obstacle lies in the habits of citizens. These habits are not incidental but systemic postulates that actively block progress. The first postulate is the normalisation of littering and spitting in public spaces. This act is performed with brazen disregard, spreading disease and eroding civic pride. The second postulate is the casual disposal of household waste into drains. Plastic bags, food scraps, and even construction debris are thrown into sewer systems, choking underground networks and causing overflows.
The third postulate is the acceptance of boiling sewers as part of daily life. Communities live alongside overflowing drains and stagnant water, treating them as normal rather than taking preventive and corrective measures. The fourth postulate is the negligence among service providers. Many sanitation workers, underpaid and undervalued, see their work as dirty rather than dignified. This mindset undermines performance and perpetuates stigma.
The fifth postulate is the widespread belief that cleanliness is solely the government’s responsibility. Streets may be swept, but they are littered again within hours because people do not see themselves as custodians of their own neighbourhoods. These habits are the main factors that prevent initiatives like Suthra Punjab from yielding effusive dividends.
Cleanliness is not a gift from the government. It is a collective achievement, sustained only when people learn to live clean and take pride in their neighbourhoods
Cleanliness is not a gift from the government. It is a collective achievement, sustained only when people learn to live clean and take pride in their neighbourhoods
Each of these postulates is deeply rooted in everyday life. Spitting is not seen as shameful but as casual behaviour, even though it spreads disease. Throwing rubbish into drains is considered convenient, even though it chokes sewerage systems and causes flooding. Living alongside boiling sewers has become normalised, with people resigned to the sight and smell rather than pivoting towards solutions. Service providers often lack motivation because society treats their work as degrading, not dignified. And the government-only mindset absolves citizens of responsibility, leaving them as passive beneficiaries rather than active custodians of cleanliness. These cultural habits are the true barriers to progress.
Mid-term reviews of Suthra Punjab by national and international observers have already highlighted delays in waste collection, lapses in service delivery, and persistent negligence among citizens. While praising the boldness of Punjab’s province-wide rollout, they stress that systemic reform cannot succeed without citizen participation.
Any ambition to live in a clean neighbourhood cannot be materialised without raising awareness at a mass scale. Citizens must learn to live clean, join hands with service providers, and sustain the gains of government investment. Without this cultural transformation, Suthra Punjab risks becoming another mechanical exercise, impressive in scale but limited in impact.
The comparison with LWMC strengthens this argument. LWMC’s failures included not only managerial but also cultural issues as well. Citizens continued to litter and dump waste into drains, while workers lacked dignity and motivation. Suthra Punjab risks repeating these outcomes unless behavioural change becomes its central pillar.
A clean Punjab is not just about sweeping streets; it is about reshaping attitudes. Awareness campaigns must confront the normalisation of unhygienic practices. Schools must teach children that spitting and littering are unacceptable. Communities must mobilise to monitor cleanliness and hold neighbours accountable. Community elders and political leaders must frame cleanliness as a moral duty. Sanitation workers must be celebrated as frontline heroes, given fair wages, protective equipment, and recognition.
Global lessons reinforce this point. Cities such as Singapore and Kigali did not achieve cleanliness through machinery alone. Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, is renowned for its transformation into one of Africa’s cleanest cities. This was achieved through strict enforcement, mass awareness campaigns, and cultural transformation.
Citizens were taught that littering was unacceptable, spitting was punishable, and waste segregation was mandatory. Monthly community clean-up days known as Umuganda mobilised entire neighbourhoods to take responsibility for their surroundings. The result was not only clean streets but a culture of civic responsibility. Punjab must learn from these examples. Without behavioural change, even the largest fleet of vehicles and the most digitised complaint systems will fail to deliver lasting cleanliness.
The government can deploy fleets and digitise complaints, but only people can keep their streets clean. They are the producers of waste, and therefore, they must be the custodians of cleanliness. Without this cultural transformation, Suthra Punjab will remain a mechanical exercise, impressive in scale but limited in impact.
Punjab has taken a bold step, but the path to a truly clean province lies not in machinery alone, but in the habits and collective posture of its people. Until citizens stop spitting on streets, throwing rubbish into drains, and tolerating boiling sewers, no initiative can yield effusive dividends. Cleanliness is not a gift from the government. It is a collective achievement, sustained only when people learn to live clean and take pride in their neighbourhoods.