A special audit of the Lahore Waste Management Company will be conducted by the Auditor General of Pakistan, examining machine repairs, vehicle mileage, and fuel usage. This step comes after a surprise check by the Chief Minister Inspection Team uncovered major issues in record-keeping and fleet management.

On Sept 8 and 9, the Chief Minister Inspection Team checked the Suthra Punjab Programme in Lahore based on instructions from the Chief Minister. Their report suggested that the administrative department set up the special audit.

The Local Government and Community Department sent a letter on Oct 20, 2026, requesting an audit squad as soon as possible. Section Officer (Companies) Muhammad Aslam Nadeem signed the correspondence. The note stated that the Chief Minister wished to resolve the issues highlighted in the recommendations submitted by the CMIT chairman, starting with the special audit.

On Oct 2, CMIT Chairman Salman Ijaz signed the report. Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Sajid Zafar Dall approved it on Oct 9, and Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman endorsed it on Oct 11.

Non-functional vehicles

During checks of vehicles parked at the Outfall Road and Thokar parking yard and workshop, inspectors discovered multiple vehicles that had sat broken for months. Numerous unusable machines sat at the location as well.

The LWMC Deputy CEO informed officials that the firm handles its own maintenance and fixes. He explained that previous contractor Al-Burak transferred most of these units in 2021 after taking out their Electronic Control Modules, rendering them useless.

Officials proposed 291 vehicles for public auction. Court battles with international contractors previously delayed this disposal process.

Manual records and tracking discrepancies

Inspectors observed that maintenance, repairs, and engine oil replacements were logged by hand. Digital or computer systems were absent for tracking these tasks.

At the LWMC control room, staff reviewed live locations of compactors, loader rickshaws, containers, and mechanical sweepers and washers via the vehicle tracking system. Units stuck at repair shops for roughly 15 days showed up as non-reporting in the software for nearly two months.

Staff failed to account for the discrepancy between workshop arrival logs and the non-reporting duration. Officials noted this mismatch demonstrated a gap between repair logs and tracking software that requires reconciliation. Officials also checked staff attendance for the Suthra Punjab Programme through the Lean Punjab Monitoring App.

The CMIT advised the administrative department to:

  • arrange a special audit of LWMC, especially of fuel consumption, mileage and repair/maintenance;
  • expedite the auction of condemned vehicles; and
  • install a centralised digital Vehicle Maintenance Management System (VMMS) to keep vehicle-wise records of repairs, servicing, oil changes, spare parts replacement and costs.

Additionally, authorities directed the Suthra Punjab Authority to establish a strong monitoring setup to track repair expenses and prevent fuel theft.