PESHAWAR, Dec 18: NWFP Minister for Environment Shah Raz Khan has said the provincial government is following a comprehensive policy to check pollution. Presiding over a meeting of the Environmental Protection Agency here on Monday, he said the government had involved NGOs in the campaign for ensuring a pollution-free environment. The minister directed the authorities concerned to monitor projects launched by NGOs under the National Conservation Strategy.

The federal ministry of environment, local government and rural development has provided grants to NGOs under the NCS. Under this programme proposals are invited every year from NGOs for carrying out environment-related projects.

The NWFP EPA has received 94 proposals for 2006-2007, which it discussed at its meeting on Nov 21.

The participants of the meeting had decided that priority would be given to those NGOs which had not been funded during the financial year 2005-06.—PPI