ISLAMABAD, March 13: The government will launch a pilot project on the public-private partnership basis for improving the public transport system of Karachi in June this year.

The Senate Standing Committee on the Environment was informed on Thursday that the project would focus on plying CNG buses in the provincial metropolis.

Expressing its deep concern over the increasing levels of environmental pollution, particularly vehicular emissions in major cities, the committee, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Mohammad Ali Brohi, called for urgent steps for a cleaner and healthier environment to ensure a better future for the coming generations.

It urged stricter implementation of the existing environmental laws and enactment of fresh ones where needed to keep the environment clean.

The committee took special notice of growing industrial and vehicular pollution, which is not only threatening the environment but also badly affecting rivers and streams. “Industrial concerns are directly discharging their pollutants and effluent into our rivers, including the Indus, which is like a lifeline and runs through nearly the whole of the country before finally joining the Arabian Sea.

“We need to embark upon measures to ensure that our water resources and reservoirs remain fresh and clean, otherwise our very survival would be at stake,” observed the committee.

The committee also recommended that the CNG buses and metro projects for big cities – especially Karachi – be pursued on a fast-track basis. It underlined the need to launch a crash programme for setting up industrial treatment plants in collaboration with city district governments and recommended matching grants for this purpose.

The committee directed the ministry of the environment to prepare a plan of action for preserving the mangrove forests, which act as fish hatcheries and breeding places of rare marine animals. “Our failure to do this would badly affect Pakistan’s exports of fish, shrimp etc,” apprehended the committee members.

The committee also recommended integration and streamlining of the procedure for issuance of fitness certificates to vehicles, especially buses and trucks, which have a major role in causing higher levels of harmful emissions. It stressed that the procedure must be foolproof and transparent, which should be documented properly.Earlier, the secretary, ministry of the environment, said that the ministry has worked out an improved system for motor vehicle fitness and emissions testing that would involve the examination of motor vehicles. The privately owned vehicles would also be checked under this system.

An ADP scheme – Vehicular Emission Control Programme – at a cost of Rs35.45 million, is being implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency, Sindh, for which staff has been appointed and equipment is under procurement.

Besides the chairman, the meeting was attended by Senators Shuja-ul-Mulk, Bibi Yasmeen Shah, Dr Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Sardar Mohammad Jamal Khan Leghari, Maulana Rahat Hussain, Syed Mohammad Hussain and Farooq H. Naek.