Punjab Green Development Program Showed Poor Results: World Bank

Punjab Green Development Program Showed Poor Results: World Bank
ISLAMABAD:

Following the failure of Punjab government in meeting the key targets of environment protection, The World Bank has demoted the $200-million Punjab Green Development Program to ‘moderately unsatisfactory’ from ‘moderately satisfactory.’

The World Bank report revealed that due to the poor results against the program targets, financial payments also remained at only $23.8 million, which was equal to just 12% of the total loan of $200 million.

The provincial government has failed to implement the program amid speedily increasing environmental degradation, resulting in extremely poor air quality in the provincial capital.

“The project implementation progress has decelerated,” noted the fourth implementation status and results report. The Washington-based financier’s decision to downgrade the project to moderately unsatisfactory is sign of CM Punab Usman Buzdar’s negligence towards Prime Minister Imran Khan’s clean and green initiative.

The Planning and Development Department of Punjab is still reviewing the PC-I of the project to set up air and water quality monitoring stations. There are no regulations for private motor vehicle inspections and certifications. The bank said there was no policy in Punjab to manage plastics and to counter its excessive use.

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