Upgradation of refineries: NA body decides to invite stakeholders in next meeting

The National Assembly's Standing Committee on Climate Change on Wednesday decided to invite stakeholders in its next meeting to formulate a plan with timeframe to upgrade refineries in the country. Committee's Chairperson Munaza Hassan from the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) presided over the meeting.

The committee decided to invite senior officials of Petroleum Division, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and other stakeholders in the next meeting to formulate a plan with timeframe to upgrade the refineries in Pakistan and to shift petrol/diesel vehicles to Euro 4/5 in the near future with an aim to make the environment hazard free.

The committee received a briefing from the representatives of the oil refineries operating in different parts of the country over the fuel specifications of diesel and measures being taken for desulphurization and the amount of Euro-II complaint diesel being produced in the country.

The committee also asked the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and relevant government departments to involve the agriculture universities and research institutes from across the country in the federal government's '10 Billion Tree Tsunami Program.'

In addition, the committee has invited the heads of the environment departments of all the provinces in the next meeting to discuss the environment related issue and make way forward how to control the air pollution in the country.

Briefing the committee, the officials of Islamabad's district administration claimed that 1.2 million trees of different species have been planted in Islamabad. The committee asked the CDA to improve the working of its Environment Directorate and actively pursue the directives issued by the federal government to actively engage in the plantation of trees in the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Program.

Last month, Secretary Climate Change Hassan Nasir Jamy briefed the committee that the federal government has released Rs 1.25 billion for the plantation of 3.29 billion saplings across the country under the 10 Billion Tree Plantation Program. This initiative, he said, marks the first phase of the federal government's 10 billion tree plantation program.

In July this year, Adviser to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam told media persons that Sindh government has agreed to plant one billion trees in the province while Punjab and Balochistan would also plant one billion trees each and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would plant 1.5 billion trees under the 10 billion plantation tree program.

The committee members including Khial Zaman, Tariq Sadiq, Andleeb Abbas, Dr Seemi Bukhari, Sabir Hussain Kaim Khani, Rubina Irfan, Tahira Aurangzeb, Shaista Pervaiz, Romina Khursheed Alam, Syed Mustafa Mahmud Afreen Khan and relevant government officials attended the meeting.