SIALKOT, July 14: The government has planned to establish small hydel power dams in the Punjab in collaboration with the private sector. It will soon announce a special package for the private sector for this purpose. This was stated by Punjab Power Minister Chaudhry Armaghan Subhani while talking to journalists in Pasrur on Thursday.

He said the establishment of the hydel power dams was the need of the hour. The Punjab government would announce a hydel power policy within next couple of days with a focus on establishing hydel power dams, he said.

Replying to a question, he said there were 400 places in the province for establishing such dams and the government had started work on a feasibility report.

industrial pollution: The government is making all out efforts for minimizing industrial pollution in the province, and some ‘revolutionary’ steps have also been taken for enabling the business community to cope with the environmental challenges.

Punjab Industries Minister Muhammad Ajmal Cheema told journalists here on Thursday that the introduction of cleaner production techniques in tanneries had reduced pollution load by about 40 per cent in the city. The leather industry was playing an instrumental role in strengthening the national economy, he added.

He said the country had become an ideal place for foreign investment because of the government’s policies, and a large number of overseas Pakistanis had shown a keen interest in different industrial projects in Punjab. The government had also decided to establish agri-based industries in the rural areas to check the larger scale migration of population to urban areas.

He said industrialization would help provide jobs to the skilled as well as unskilled labour close to their native places.