That protracted delay in release of funds by the Ministry of Finance has been a stumbling block in the execution of a large number of the Environment Ministry's approved projects, has been pointed out in a Recorder Report, quoting sources, as appearing on February 11.
Elaborating on the predicament on this count, it added that the projects thus affected - including the ones specifically designed for 2009 the declared National Year of Environment - were approved by the CWDP much earlier, but the Ministry of Finance delayed release of funds timely to execute them.
A large number of big and small projects, to be executed in 2008-09, were badly affected by this delay, some of them ready for execution by the Ministry as employees had been hired and expensive machinery purchased to proceed with the task. Worse, as also unfolded by the report, for sheer lack of funds the employees remained unpaid for the last six to seven months.
And what's more, in the meantime, costly machinery and equipment were just rusting, evidently from disuse. All this happening right in very beginning of the National Year of Environment, declared by the new government, ostensibly, to make for the past lapses and to gear up for the daunting task lying ahead will appear as disappointing, to say the least.
Needless to point out, delay in execution of these projects would add to a plethora of environmental hazards has remained facing over long years. It goes without saying environmental issues in this country have been threatening the economy and not only its rapidly increasing population's well-being but also its economy with its tremendous potential which remained largely under-exploited.
Worse, with passing decades there has been little evidence of abatement either. First thing first, availability of natural resources is limited by the dry climate and mountainous terrain, exacerbated by pressure of population growth on the resource base.
And resource management, at its end, continually suffering from over-emphasis on rapid economic growth, to the accompaniment of largely unregulated forms of productivity. For one thing, hazardous population growth and poor water infrastructure have cut per capita water availability.
Along with these, undiminished use of firewood has assigned to Pakistan the world's second highest rate of deforestation. With poor agricultural practices causing soil erosion, groundwater degradation, together with various other problems have held up crop output, thereby, adding to health problems in rural communities.
Similarly, solid waste burning, low-quality fuels, and rapidly accelerating use of fuel-inefficient motor vehicles have dangerously enhanced air pollution. In so far as the efforts of the changing governments down the past decades is concerned, not much has come besides expression of concern over environmental threats to economic growth and social development.
This has, of course, been supplement by new legislations and institutions since the early 1990s, for instance, setting up of the Pakistan Environment Protection Council. However, foreign lenders have been mostly providing environmental protection funds. Again, as the government's capability in enforcing the environmental regulations has remained limited private industries are found lacking in funds to meet internationally set environmental standards.
Now that the new government has come up with an ambitious plan to ensure environmental safety, the manner in which its agenda if being implemented leaves a great deal to be desired. Perhaps, the only consolation in this context lies in somewhat comforting disclosure in a news report that last week the Ministry of Finance finally approved the financial allocations for the projects and hopefully the amounts would be released soon.
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