Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Climate Change Policy and Action Plan-2022, which aims to minimize greenhouse gas emissions through technical or nature-based solutions and lessen the vulnerability of natural and human systems, was adopted by the provincial cabinet on Tuesday.
Consistent with the goals of the Revised National Climate Change Policy 2021, the new policy will target all nine agro-ecological zones in the province, not counting the districts that were merged.
If the strategy is put into effect, the province will be able to accomplish sustainable development and build resilience against natural catastrophes, and it will also have a better chance of attracting international climate funds in the adaptation and mitigation sectors.
A meeting was conducted, and Chief Minister Mahmood Khan presided over the vote.
The premier boasted that K-P was the first province to develop a policy and plan to address climate change at the provincial level.
Administrative secretaries, as well as the senior member of the Board of Revenue and the chief and additional secretaries, were present at the meeting with cabinet members.
In a briefing to the media following the cabinet meeting, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Information and Public Relations Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that the CM had ordered a feasibility study to be completed within a month’s time in order to establish a plant for the production of energy from wastes/garbage.
The bio-fuel plant will assist in reducing pollution levels and will help the province become energy independent.
The chief minister, he added, has also instructed that the appropriate legislation be amended to allow for the acquisition of no more than 100 canals of land for the establishment of universities. For this reason, farmland will be safe.
According to him, the cabinet also gave the green light for the food department to execute an MOU with the Bank of Khyber for the Insaf Food Card.
According to him, the Insaf Food Card will provide Rs 2,100 to eligible families every month.
After evaluating some of its previous choices made during the special budget meeting conducted on June 13, 2022, he said the cabinet agreed to cut the ad hoc allowance 2022 from 16 percent to 15 percent, which would be paid to all provincial government employees on running basic salary.
According to him, the cabinet also gave its approval for the Water and Sanitation Services Company (WSSC) Bannu to serve the 89,596 residents of the eleven village councils and five neighborhood councils that are under the purview of the assistant director LG Bannu.
The lease agreement between the Local Government, Elections & Rural Development Department and the Sports, Tourism, and Culture Department for the lease of 100 kanals of land on the Mardan bypass road for the construction of a Cultural Complex in Mardan was also approved by the cabinet, according to Barrister Saif.
He also said the cabinet had given its blessing for the patwar halqas of the Sulatanr and Jarogo valleys to be brought under the purview of the Upper Swat Development Authority so that it could better promote eco-tourism and environmentally friendly development.
According to him, the cabinet also gave the green light to pay raises for as many as four former FATA Development Corporation workers.
He further reported that the cabinet had adopted a bill to clarify and simplify the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority Act of 2022.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
