KARACHI, July 25: The government would spend a sum of Rs8 billion on the provision of clean drinking water to the people.

This was stated by State Minister Environment Malik Amin Aslam, while speaking as chief guest at a conference on environment management and conferment of excellence awards at a local hotel here on Tuesday.

The minister said that the quality of life could be preserved if we took care of the environment. It should be ensured that we lead towards the high growth and at the same time help maintain good quality of life.

He pointed out that during the last two years the budget for environment had been increased from Rs450 million to over Rs5 billion which indicated the government's commitment to the cause of environment.

Mr Aslam said that the programme for the provision of clean drinking water was launched last year and it was now in the implementation phase. A sum of around Rs8 billion would be spent on the installation of water filtration plants all over the country.

The minister pointed out that air pollution was one of the major environmental issues resulting in various ailments. To help tackle the situation, the ministry has launched a clean air programme for the entire country, he added saying that the provincial governments are also contributing towards this aspect.

The minister urged the private sector to come to the fore and play its role towards the improvement in the environment and enhancing the quality of life. He was of the view that the environment could not be preserved without the help of the private sector in the country. Mr Aslam also spoke of the important role of the media for taking up environmental issues.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, in his message read out on the occasion, said that the government accorded due importance to the environmental issues as it fully realised the scope and impact they could have on the masses.

He further stated that special allocation of funds had been made in the budget to meet the needs of environmental issues so that our habitat could be made pollution-free.

The prime minister also pointed out that the government had also taken concrete steps to improve the conditions in the industrial sector which was directly related with the masses and society.

On the occasion, the state minister on environment gave away awards to the representatives of various industries on the basis of their excellent environmental record.—APP