KARACHI, July 1: The city government has chalked out an elaborate programme for the gradual phasing out of insecure and worn-out buses ultimately getting these replaced with 8,000 new CNG buses in the next four years.

This was stated by the City Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil at a seminar organised by the International Peace Commission here on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion she said that the federal government was offering assistance in the form of Rs4 billion to help the local transporters to get these buses imported at subsidised rates.

The city government itself was said to have earmarked Rs500 million for the scheme, under its current fiscal year budget to be complimented with an annual allocation of Rs10 billion for the next three consecutive years.

Ms Jalil said that in the next four years the metropolis would finally get rid of atmospheric pollution caused by smoke emitting vehicles.

She reiterated that the city government was taking all necessary steps to contain environmental degradation, with specific reference to atmospheric pollution in Karachi.

Reiterating the city government's strong commitment to provide citizens a healthy and clean environment, she said that it was with the very objective that the solid waste management scheme was being streamlined through the involvement of national and foreign investors. Private sector is being engaged, she said mentioning that the garbage transfer station is part of the very efforts. —APP