Punjab govt to set up Endowment Fund to monitor air quality index: CM

LAHORE, Jan 08 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on Wednesday said an Environmental Endowment Fund (EEF) would be set up to regularly monitor and determine the air quality index.

Presiding over a meeting of the Punjab Environmental Protection Council here, he ordered constituting a committee for setting up the Fund.

The meeting also decided to prepare a comprehensive environment situation report. The chief minister observed that the identification of environmental quality should be
realistic. Experts would also be consulted to deal with climate change issues as the same were sensitive and no leniency or negligence would be tolerated in that regard, he added.

He regretted that criminal negligence was shown in the past by ignoring climate challenges and trees were mercilessly cut for erecting a chaotic jumble of concrete structures, bridges and buildings. “We are facing the consequences now in the shape of smog and environmental pollution,” he added.

Usman Buzdar emphasized that the coming generations would have to be provided a neat and clean atmosphere and for the purpose, every challenge had to be overcome.
He said the Punjab Environmental Protection Council would meet regularly.

Environmental experts and heads of different departments presented their proposals in the meeting.

Provincial Environment Minister Muhammad Rizwan, secretaries of environment, industries, planning & development, finance, irrigation, health and forests departments, representatives of World Wild Fund, Punjab University, UET Lahore and others attended the meeting.