LAHORE: The Punjab government and a World Bank delegation on Friday discussed preparations for the Punjab Clean Air Programme and examined the challenges of straw burning in fields and the use of inferior quality fuel in the province.

A World Bank team, led by Operations Manager for Pakistan Gailius Draugelis, held a meeting with Punjab Planning and Development Board acting chairman Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, Punjab Transport and Masstransit Minister Bilal Akbar Khan, as well as administrative secretaries of the transport and environment departments.

World Bank Team lead Gailius Draugelis apprised the forum about the proposed interventions of the program.

Briefing the meeting participants about the challenges and measures taken to combat air pollution and mitigate the smog conditions in the province, Mr Sahoo, who is also the agriculture department secretary, said the Lahore and Gujranwala divisions had around three million acres of land where rice was cultivated, but eventual straw burning in those areas caused significant air pollution and environmental issues.

“In order to counter this situation, the Punjab government has decided to provide around 5,000 superseeders/happyseeders to the farmers, and some 1,000 machines will be handed over to farmers next month,” Mr Sahoo said.

Minister Bilal said the government had launched the Smog Free Punjab programme aimed at combating air pollution through various measures, including industrial conversions, transportation reforms, agricultural innovations, and public awareness campaigns to improve air quality and protect health in Punjab.

Transport and Masstransit Department Secretary Ahmed Javed Qazi briefed the forum about the directions of the senior minister to work out the details and allocations of the programme.

Punjab Environment and Climate Change Department Secretary Raja Jahangir Anwar said the quality of fuel being used in the province was very poor, and there was no existing mechanism to check the quality or conduct sample tests. He said that the environment protection and climate change department should be given a share of $50 million in the programme. He said the department had taken strong policy decisions and measures, besides launching an aggressive awareness campaign to control air pollution and smog conditions in the province.

Punjab Small Industries Corporation managing director Saira Omar said that resource efficient and cleaner practices must be practiced on a wider scale.

The managing director of the Punjab Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency, Abdur Rahman, said that a feasibility study was being conducted on green cooking and the replacement of household stoves.

Mr Draugelis briefed the meeting about the loan size of the programme and explained that right now the size of the programme was $300 million, as conveyed by the Economic Affairs Division. However, he said the bank would discuss with stakeholders, including the federal and provincial governments, and finalize the enhanced loan size by the second week of next month.

P&D Board secretary Dr Asif Tufail, members P&D Board Sadaqat Hussain, Aslam Javaid and other officers participated in the meeting.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2024