Punjab Environment Minister Dr Anjum Amjad has said water treatment plants would be installed in 21 tehsils of southern Punjab for treatment of polluted water. She was addressing the concluding ceremony of a workshop organised by the Punjab Environment Department here on Monday.
Representatives of the World Bank, the Environment Department and government officials were also present. She said it was the government's top priority to provide clean drinking water and environment for which it has taken several steps. "In the Punjab Budget 2007-8, government enhanced the allocations for the environment," she said adding that with the help of the Federal government, water filtration plants are being installed at union council level throughout Punjab.
Moreover, with the support of JICA, they are setting up air quality monitoring system to examine level of pollution in the air, she added. She said that government was taking steps to reallocate the tanneries outside the populated areas.
To control pollution caused by industrial activities, in Lahore, Rahim Yar Khan, Sailkot, Faisalabad and Multan new industrial zones having combined water treatment plants were being established, away from the populated areas and industrialists are also being asked to install primary water treatment plants in their factories, she added.
Dr Anjum said the government was striving to provide a clean environment for its citizens. She appealed to the media to educate their readers on pollution and clean environment.