LAHORE - Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) of the City District Government has decided to award contract of removing solid waste from Lahore Ring Road to a private firm, sources informed TheNation on Thursday. LWMC will invite tenders from interested parties to carryout sanitation at 46 kilometre long Lahore Ring Road during next 2-3 days. LWMC is working on the plan of hiring contractors for removing solid waste from different markets, major roads and localities to interested parties in phases to improve sanitation conditions in the City. The company has already started process of awarding contract of lifting and disposal of solid waste from different City markets. According to the proposed plan, the contractor will pay the existing salaries plus 10 per cent raise to officials and sanitation workers assigned the task of performing duties on any of the project. The staff, however, will remain on the strength of CDGLs LWMC and as such there will be no danger to their jobs. In return of paying salaries and meeting the operational cost of lifting solid waste, the private firm or contractor will get the recyclable material. According to the insiders, the process of privatisation of sanitation in selected markets and Lahore Ring Road will complete after Eidul Azha holidays. Terming rumours of mistrust and resentment among officials and sanitation workers on awarding contract of lifting solid waste from markets and other selected areas as baseless, Managing Director LWMC Waseem Ajmal said the company would never compromise on the job security of its employees. He said the LWMC would ensure that the officials and sanitary workers would get their salaries plus 10-20 per cent raise from the private parties. In reality, the sanitary workers will get economic relief in the shape of additional pay. They will work in shifts and will also be relieved from performing protocol duties and additional assignments, he said.