ABBOTTABAD, June 29: Environment Minister Tahir Iqbal said on Tuesday that the government had set aside Rs10 billion for installing filtration plants in all the union councils in the country to prevent water-borne diseases. Speaking as the chief guest at the closing session of a three-day international conference on environmentally sustainable development, organized by the Comsats Institute of Information Technology, he said a comprehensive environment policy would be launched soon after approval by the cabinet.

He said 5,000 treatment plants would be installed in two years.

He said 115 projects relating to environment would be launched in the country from the next fiscal year for which Rs21.7 billion would be required.

More than 200 experts from the country and abroad took part in the conference.

He said his ministry had fixed its priorities and set targets for clean air and water.

He said that besides developing the monitory system, legislation would be done so that all vehicles would require a certificate every year to be smoke free. He said that by 2012 rickshaws and diesel vehicles which create noise and smoke would not be allowed on the roads.

He said that under the policy every industry would be responsible to follow the rules and abide by the directives of the ministry.

He said pollution in the air in the country was five times higher than the international standard.

He said collective efforts of the government and the private sector were needed with special contribution by the public for a nationwide environment campaign.

Earlier, Prof Susan Roaf of the Oxford University read out the ‘Abbottabad declaration’ singed by almost 20 scholars and scientists of the United Kingdom, Italy, India, Australia, Mozambique, China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Bangladesh, Germany, Belgium, Thailand, Japan, Egypt, Nepal, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The participants pledged “continuing with renewed resolve to work diligently on the key challenges of sustainability in the fields of water, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity and searching for effective solutions to these challenges that are effective and practically benefit the most vulnerable in our societies.”

Comsats Director Haroon Rasheed also spoke.

PRISONERS FREED: At least 12 prisoners serving different sentences in minor cases in the Abbottabad jail were freed by the district and sessions Judge Hayat Ali Shah after a camp court was held at the jail here on Tuesday.