The other two essential features of the new initiative are beautification and the usability of public spaces
DISTRICT KURRAM: Recently, Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the Clean Green Pakistan Index, a flagship initiative that will, in its start, rank 19 cities in K-P and Punjab on the basis of maintaining cleanliness. This is a commendable effort and an innovative approach for mitigating the hazardous impacts of climate change in Pakistan. Does the grand project include any system or regulation of human waste? There is absolutely no concept of a modern sanitation system in tribal areas. Public toilet system is a taboo issue and even toilets in homes are regarded as abodes of the devil. People still defecate in the open.
Haphazard urbanisation is wreaking havoc on the serenity and beauty of the areas. There is virtually no government department to address this growing menace. Deforestation is on the rise. What would happen if the newly merged tribal districts fail to respond to the issue of climate change in a befitting manner? What type of a world would we be living in fifty years from now?
The other two essential features of the new initiative are beautification and the usability of public spaces. Is there any data available on the number of public spaces for the tribal denizens? The government has to come up with a comprehensive plan for ameliorating the effects of climate change.
Lastly, the concept of the sustainable cities also needs to be extended.
Muhammad Arif Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2019.
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