March 15, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 6, 1429

ISLAMABAD, March 14: Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed-mian Soomro on Friday approved the Islamabad Green City Plan giving the federal capital under the virtual control of the ministry of environment.

According to the environment ministry sources, under the plan all development and non-development activities in the city would be carried out with prior approval of the ministry to ensure that these projects did not contribute to pollution and environmental degradation.

“Islamabad would be the first city in the country to have the green city status and a formal charter to declare it as such will be signed on Saturday,” caretaker environment minister Syed Wajid Hussain Bukhari told media persons.

He said stakeholders including environmentalists, government officials, people from construction and other industries, vehicle registration authorities/transport companies, owners of brick-kilns, development authorities and educational institutions would shortly be called to a meeting to discuss the plan and seek suggestions about its implementation.

Talking to Dawn, Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) director general Asif Shuja said all government, private organisations and even individuals would have to act in line with the green city requirements.

For example, he added, the CDA would have to execute development works by ensuring that such activities did not harm the environment. It would also have to preserve green belts/areas.

“The CDA would have to make its rules in conformity with the green city programmes. It would have to control the release of effluents from all industries like steel rolling mills, marble factories and brick kilns.”

Similarly, traffic police and vehicle registration authorities would have to ensure that smoke-emitting vehicles did come on roads besides taking other steps like imposition of ban on rickety public transport vehicles.

Educational institutions would have to give awareness to their students and launch campaigns for protection of environment.

Oil refineries would have to ensure that they would curtail sulphur level in petroleum products, so that the level of carbon dioxide could be reduced.

Similarly, the use of polythene bags would be banned and strict laws would be made to stop their further production at all levels.

The caretaker government claimed that green city plan was designed to provide a healthy climate, pollution-free atmosphere and plenty of water in the capital.

However, the ground reality is that the environment is fast deteriorating with increasing population, cutting of trees and consequent economic and construction activities, which have given birth to high-rise buildings, residential apartments, housing schemes, industrial units and new markets.

A number of sources of pollution have emerged within and along the periphery of the city like steel and marble industry, brick-kilns, stone crushing and cement plants, adversely affecting air and water quality in the city.

It is observed that natural water streams are getting polluted due to discharge of domestic water and municipal sewage into them.

A number of development schemes both in the public and private sectors are also being implemented in Islamabad without due care to the environment.

Unsustainable urban development has also attracted attention of the United Nations and green cities declaration was included in the UN programmes.

About 100 cities have so far been given the green city status in the world. Under the plan, urban planning is given due importance and programmes such as energy conservation, tree plantation are carried out in a coherent manner.