FAISALABAD, June 6: Punjab Environment Minister Makhdoom Ashfaq Ahmed has said all industrial units situated in residential areas of the province would be shifted to estates set up outside the municipal limits.

Speaking to Chamber of Commerce and Industry members here on Tuesday, he said provincial government had decided to set up two combined effluent treatment plants every year. One such plant would be installed in Faisalabad’s industrial estate at an estimated cost of Rs1 billion, he added.

He said the Punjab government had issued directives for replacement and separation of water and sewer lines in the city.

Similarly, on president’s directives, Rs10 billion had been allocated to set up filtration plants at union council level throughout the country, he said and urged people to drink bottled water.

He said district governments had been directed to mark negative areas in their respective jurisdiction, while a proposal was under consideration to declare two to one kilometre area around new industrial estate as green areas to help check environmental pollution.

Commenting on emerging environmental challenges, he said population boom had disturbed ecology. Punjab government, he said, had chalked out a number of policies to protect environment in collaboration with civil society.

He said three companies were making 10,000 four-stroke CNG rickshaws for Lahore, and added that such vehicles would also be introduced in Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Multan. He said the government would encourage CNG buses from the next year and in this connection loan on easy instalments would also be provided for the Green Fund.

Earlier, FCCI President Mian Muhammad Hanif in his welcome address highlighted the environmental issues and demanded the government should allocate maximum funds to save environment.