WB team, minister discuss Clean Air Programme

LAHORE: World Bank delegation on Friday visited P&D Board Punjab where Minister for Transport & Mass Transit Punjab Bilal Akbar Khan held a meeting with the guest delegation to discuss the preparation of Punjab Clean Air Programme.

Acting Chairman P&D Board Iftikhar Ali Sahoo briefed the delegation about the efforts of Punjab govt to mitigate the smog conditions in Punjab. The World Bank team led by Operations Manager Pakistan Gailius Draugelis apprised the forum about the proposed interventions of the programme.

Secretary Transport Ahmed Javed Qazi briefed the forum about the directions of Sr Minster to work out the details and allocations of the programme. Bilal Akbar said that the government has launched Smog-Free Punjab Programme aims to combat air pollution through various measures including industrial conversions, transportation reforms, agricultural innovations and public awareness campaigns to improve air quality and protect health in Punjab.

In order to counter this situation, the Punjab govt has decided to provide around 5,000 superseeders/happyseeders to the farmers and about 1,000 will be handed over to farmers in next month.

Gailius Draugelis briefed about the loan size of the programme and explained that right now the size of the programme is USD 300 million as conveyed by the Economic Affairs Division. However, the bank will finalize after discussions with stakeholders including the federal and provincial govts. This will be finalised by the 2nd week of Nov 2024.