ISLAMABAD, May 20 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday highlighting the importance of early formulation of master plans of big cities said that the issue required immediate attention.
The unplanned and haphazard fast expansion of urban boundaries not only pose severe angers to climate but also likely to create food security and administrative issues, he remarked.
The Prime Minister expressed these views while presiding over a weekly meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) for Housing, Construction and Development here.
Stressing for the protection of green areas, he said that as greener Pakistan was essential for the protection of coming generations and providing them a better environment, therefore the rule and regulations for the use of land and the strategy for their implementation should immediately be formulated.
The Prime Minister directed the Chief Secretary Punjab to immediately prepare a Green Areas Protection Plan along with an implementation strategy.
He said that the protection of green areas should be taken as a national emergency and effective participation of masses in those efforts be ensured.
The Prime Minister on this also assigned the Finance Minister to prepare and present a comprehensive plan for the provision of soft-term loans to weaker segments of society for employment, to low income groups for the construction of their own houses as well as ensuring the technical and professional skills education for at least one member of poor households.
For the protection of green areas, the meeting decided to amend the existing rules and regulations regarding the use of agricultural, residential and other lands so that agricultural lands and green areas could be protected and the powers to change the status of such lands could be transferred to higher levels.
The meeting, which was briefed by the Ministry of Climate Change about the Green Building Code, decided to implement the Green Building Codes in Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme as a pilot project.
Green Building Code comprises conservation of energy, water and construction material besides indoor air quality, thermal comfort, location and transport. The implementation of Green Building Code had realized the reduction of 24% to 50% in terms of energy, 33% to 35% in terms of carbon emission, 40% conservation of water and around 70% reduction in solid waste.
Whereas the extra cost for the implementation of Green Building Code was very low which too was recovered in two to three years, the participants were told.
The meeting was briefed in detail about the reformulation of master plans of the country’s big cities and progress made so far.
Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa briefed the Prime Minister about the progress made so far regarding the reformulation of big cities’ master plans in their respective provinces.
Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa told the meeting that a new law was being introduced for the protection of green areas, use of lands and especially for the approval of housing societies in the province.