February 11, 2006	Saturday	Muharram 12, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: Mass awareness is the only way to fight the ever increasing environmental degradation in the country, Federal Environment Minister Maj (retired) Tahir Iqbal said.

Speaking at a dialogue organized under the auspices of the National Press Club here on Friday, the minister called for a proactive approach on part of the media in this regard.

“The basic problem we are facing as a country in this sector is awareness of current environmental issues. Though people have lately started talking about water and air pollution, it is not enough to force polluters to abide by rules and regulations which the government has worked out under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997,” he said.

Every year, the country suffers a loss of Rs30 billion owing to water-born diseases. Fifty per cent of hospital beds’ occupation is due to such diseases, the minister said.

“With the spending of only Rs12 to Rs15 billion, we can provide the facility of clean drinking water to 70 per cent of the population which is presently getting dirty water,” he claimed.

Under the Clean Drinking Water Initiative, a multi billion rupees project, 70 to 80 per cent population of the country will be getting clean drinking water by 2007, the minister added.

During the last three years, the federal budget for environment increased five times from Rs500 million in 2003-2004 to Rs2 billion in the current financial year, he said.

Responding to a question, the minister accepted that the capacity building of environment ministries, at both federal and provincial level, needed to be enhanced.

“The environment ministry is planning to have technical inspection teams which could conduct inspections wherever required throughout the country,” he said.

Answering another question, he said in total, the federal environment ministry was carrying out 35 small and big projects with special focus on mass awareness at grassroots level.

Under a project titled “Roaming Teachers”, a team of teachers would be visiting schools, showing movies and delivering lecturers to create awareness among school-level girls and boys of basics of water and air pollutions, and garbage handling, Mr Iqbal said.

“It (the project) can go a long way in having a generation that is conversant with basic environmental issues in the country,” the minister added.

About national environment policy, he said 40 per cent of rules and guidelines had been prepared, and by the end of the year, the policy would be ready for implementation, he said.

The ministry is also in the process of having separate policies for sanitation, clean drinking water and forestry, he said.

Talking about the Balochistan issue by the end of the discussion, the minister said the government was ready for a dialogue, but for that, they (Baloch fighters) first have to disarm, he said.

Earlier, National Press Club President Fouzia Shahid welcomed the minister. She said NPC’s dialogue programme had been started for better understanding of various national issues.