Provincial government is planning to launch Punjab Devolved Social Services Programme, which would significantly improve the overall environmental quality of the participating Tehsil Municipal Administrations. According to an official source, this proposed programme is considered not to have significant environmental impacts and classification B to be appropriate and therefore an Environmental Impact Assessment is not deemed necessary.
These have been specifically addressed through a programme of interventions under the Environmental Management Plan and will be supported by the proposed TA loan associated with this programme loan, amounting to a total of $20 million.
Punjab government also prepared a environmental management plan (EMP), which follow proposed actions describe the conditions or safeguards required to ensure that the policy interventions will promote environmentally sound development.
Environmental checklists will be developed for the TMAs to conduct a rapid environmental assessment on proposed investment projects to be undertaken. For those projects deemed by the TMAs to have some impact on the environment, environmental monitoring procedures during design, construction and operation will be specified and monitored through the implementation of an environmental management plan (EMP) designed for each of such investment projects.
The EMP will comprise design, implementation and operation mitigation measures and specify monitoring activities to ensure compliance. EMPs will be designed by locally accredited institutes and approved by the line department and Environment Protection Department of Punjab, as required by local law.
According to official sources, specific measures to be included as part of the environmental management plan designed to prevent any environmental impacts include:
(i) Environmental checklists are developed for screening all project investments are in conformity with the guidelines. TMAs covered under the programme to submit completed environmental checklists for every project;
(ii) Guidelines on the use of funds including environmental screening procedures incorporated in all service delivery projects;
(iii) Consultation on environmental impacts is built into the consultation programme with stakeholders;
(iv) Environmental monitoring and evaluation training to be provided to designate
TMA officers in TMAs covered under the programme;
(v) For in TMAs covered under the programme, hospital and clinics to designate a medical waste management focal point responsible for development and enforcement of a medical waste collection, segregation and management plans, and provide appropriate training to the sanitary staff;
(vi) Hospital and clinics to develop medical waste disposal record system, reflecting that all solid and non-infectious waste is adequately disposed of through an incineration process where appropriate or at an upgraded and designated landfill;
(vii) DSSP will affect improvements in the quality of water supplied to consumers through a comprehensive water quality-testing programme to be developed jointly by the Environment Protection Department and TMAs covered under the programme and implemented on quarterly basis;
(viii) Occupation Health and Safety procedures will be developed by the in TMAs covered under the programme where chlorination systems are to be implemented.
(ix) Environmental management training to be organised for women and men from communities; environmental education for school children and establish environmental club to monitor and improve the environmental conditions of the school environment. In addition, hygiene education programmes to be developed and provided throughout the province.
Punjab government has also chalked out the protocols to be followed by the TMAs are to include:
(i) Occupational Health and Safety plans for any works undertaken;
(ii) Enforcement of internal and external monitoring procedures;
(iii) Development of a financial sustainability plan for operating facilities, and follow-up monitoring plan;
(iv) Agreements between communities and local authorities for provision of safe and environmentally acceptable disposal of municipal waste facilities and appropriate treatment of septic tanks on a regular basis;
(v) Contract agreements to be signed between municipal authorities and private providers for disposal of medical waste to the landfills and for disposal of human waste to incinerators;
(vi) Awareness programme for the development of a separation of hazardous waste at source programme and its proper collection and transportation with safe disposal;
(vii) Training courses in operating safe management/disposal of medical waste and water conservation practices; and employee health, hygiene and safety training;
(viii) Public- private -civil society partnership for solid waste management system may be introduced in selected districts.
(ix) A comprehensive groundwater and surface water quality testing programme to be developed to ensure the suitability of sources for drinking purposes in TMAs covered under the programme.
Commenting over the back ground of the project, the official sources stated that the rapid population growth, stagnant school enrollments, low literacy rate, high infant and maternal mortality and poor nutritional status of women and children are the major challenges.
Almost 40 percent of the burden of disease is related to communicable diseases having major impact on well-being the economy, and the environment of the Punjab Province. These challenges have an impact on poverty, gender imbalance and neglect of social services in rural areas and urban slums, which are in turn linked to governance and environmental problems.
The Punjab Economic Research Institute has ranked the 34 districts of Punjab according to the level of development based on a composite development index using the SPDC methodology developed by the Karachi based Social Policy Development Center.
Ten districts have been classified as highly deprived and comprise in descending order: Rajanpur (the most deprived), Muzaffargarh, DG Khan, Layyah, Lodhran, Bhakkar, Pakpattan, Rahimyar Khan, Bahawalpur and Jhang.
Seven of these most deprived districts fall in southern Punjab. The Punjab Devolved Social Services Programme (PDSSP) aims to improve education, health and drinking water and sanitation in all the districts of Punjab province. It will support local governments (LGs) and community-based organisations with flexible financing to improve and expand social services with priority for the poor, women and vulnerable.
An environmental assessment of the proposed Punjab Devolved Social Services Programme (PDSSP) was carried out to identify necessary measures to prevent or mitigate any adverse environmental impacts, which could possibly arise from its implementation. The PDSSP is classified as environmental category B.
The programme is supported by policy reforms and a technical assistance grant for capacity building of LGs, which includes implementation, monitoring and evaluation of environmental safeguards.
The goal of DSSP is to achieve progress on MDGs related to poverty, gender, education, health, and water and sanitation sector (WSS). The policy framework provides for the introduction of new policies or adaptation of existing polices to create an enabling environment for LGs to improve quality, efficiency and effectiveness of social services for the poor and vulnerable groups.
The programme is built around three principal policy outcomes: i) Realign inter-governmental relations to support devolved social services; ii) Rationalise and set minimum standards for social services; and iii) Strengthen public accountability mechanisms and promote public-private partnership.
The overall objective is to strengthen devolved social services for more equitable, efficient, effective, and sustainable social services in line with the Punjab Local Government Ordinance (PLGO). In order to achieve the goals and objectives, it will be necessary to increase funding to the social sectors to expand coverage of health services, especially for women and children, increase school enrolment rates, and improve access to WSS facilities;
Move away from provincially driven to demand driven programmes that are identified and implemented by LGs in line with PRSP to achieve MDGs; and to enhance the capacity of LGs to assume new roles and responsibilities envisaged under the PLGO, including planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.
According to official sources, the environmental assessment of the four policy interventions was conducted using the methodology of the assessment of the direct environmental impacts caused by the immediate economic and social outcomes. As shown, most direct environmental impacts are expected to be positive and in some cases, means to enhance such outcomes have been suggested. Alternatively, where negative impacts have been identified, mitigation measures are proposed.
Although expected to have substantial positive environmental impact, increased expenditure in social sectors should be adequately addressed to prevent any negative outcomes. For this purpose, specific environmental mitigation measures have been proposed. These have been specifically addressed through a programme of interventions under the environmental management plan and will be supported by the proposed TA loan associated with this programme loan, amounting to a total of $20 million.