A sum of Rs 90 million is being spent on various projects related to improvement of the environment sector in Punjab.
The Punjab minister for Information Technology (IT), Abdul Aleem Khan stated this on Tuesday.
Talking to a students' delegation of Environmental Science department of the Punjab University, Lahore, he said the objective was to control pollution and monitor sub-soil water quality, air quality and industrial gaseous emissions, according to a handout.
The Minister informed the students that an 'Environment education and communication programme' to cost Rs 5 million, had been launched to sensitise people about the hazardous effects of pollution and the growing importance of clean air.
He further said the government planned to establish a tannery treatment plant in the Sialkot with an estimated cost of Rs 781 million.
The Minister observed that modern societies had since long developed a mechanism of structuring economic development on the basis of an 'Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which assessed the harmful effects of a proposed project at the initial stage.
This advance information could help eliminate or reduce the harmful effects of industrial activity through deploying technological innovations in the field of pollution abatement and treatment works.
Abdul Aleem urged the students' team to explore ways to minimise environmental degradation, and air and noise pollution.
Awareness of the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEOS) would help combat the menace of industrial effluents, and every citizen must play role in protecting the environment, the minister observed.
He said that clean environment was a basic human right, and the non-formal sector, besides media, could help sensitise the civil society about' its importance.