PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Tuesday set a one-month deadline for the relevant authorities to conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a waste-to-energy plant.

“The proposed bio-fuel plant will not only help the province achieve energy self-sufficiency but will control environmental pollution as well,” the chief minister told a cabinet meeting here.

The meeting was also attended by the chief secretary, additional chief secretary, senior member of the Board of Revenue, and administrative secretaries of government departments.

According to spokesman for the government Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, who later addressed a presser, the chief minister also ordered amendments to the relevant laws on the acquisition of land for universities and said no more than 100 kanals of land should be procured for a university to protect agricultural lands.

Cabinet okays climate change policy with focus on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

The cabinet also approved the KP Climate Change Policy and Action Plan, 2022, with a focuses on the reduction of the vulnerability of natural and human systems as well as lessening greenhouse gas emissions through technological or nature-based solutions.

“The new climate change policy is in consonance with the objectives of the Revised National Climate Change Policy 2021 and will address as many as nine agroecological zones of the province, including tribal districts,” the spokesman said.

He said the policy’s successful implementation would open new avenues to attract international climate financing in adaptation and mitigation sectors, allowing the province to achieve sustainable development and create resilience against natural disasters securing the province’s fragile economy in confronting future environmental challenges.

Mr Saif quoted the chief minister as saying Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the first province to devise own climate change policy after the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

The cabinet reviewed some of its decisions made in the June 13, 2022, special budget meeting and approved reduction of the Ad hoc Allowance, 2022, from 16 per cent to 15 per cent to be granted to all provincial government employees on running basic pay “with no immediate pay-as-you-go deduction towards the Defined Contribution Pension Programme.”

The spokesman also said the decision regarding calculation of pension emoluments on the basis of the last three years average basic pay with effect from July 1, 2022, was held in abeyance.

He said the cabinet approved the extension of the Water and Sanitation Services Company Bannu’s jurisdiction to 11 village councils and five neighbourhood councils falling within the ambit of the local assistant director (local government) to benefit 89,596 residents.

Mr Saif said the cabinet also approved lease agreement between the local government development and the culture department for leasing out 100 kanals of land on the Mardan Bypass Road to the latter for establishing a cultural complex in Mardan.

He said the cabinet also approved the inclusion of patwar halqas of Sulatanr and Jarogo valleys in the jurisdiction of the Upper Swat Development Authority to enable the authority to carry out its functions regarding promotion of eco-tourism and environment-friendly development effectively.

The spokesman said approval was also accorded to the upgradation of four employees of the defunct Fata Development Corporation, including Mohammad Suleman Khan, Mohammad Rafiq, Sanaullah and Fazal Rabi, as well as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Act, 2022.

The cabinet approved the posting of Zakaullah Khattak to the vacant post of the managing director of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Urban Mobility Authority and the regularisation of 21 officers of the Special Police Force against vacancies in various districts.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2022