Only two new schemes for climate ministry

ISLAMABAD:

The Planning Commission (PC) has incorporated only two new schemes for the next fiscal year, out of 23 proposals submitted by the Ministry of Climate Change.

According to the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), PC has integrated two new schemes — sustainable land management programme to combat desertification, and the carbon neutral Pakistan project — at an estimated cost of Rs419.390 million.

The government however, has allocated only Rs31.156million for the PSDP to complete the two approved schemes, with the lion’s share going to the land management and desertification project, at Rs23.404 million.

The scheme was approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) in April and its total estimated cost amounts to Rs105.430 million, The remaining Rs7.752 million has been spared for carbon neutral Pakistan scheme — which has yet to be approved — and its total estimated cost will come up to Rs313.960 million.

The government has allocated Rs39.752 million from the PSDP for the Climate Change Division, of which Rs8.586 million would be spent on an ongoing scheme for the establishment of geomatic centre for climate change and sustainable development, which was approved by the Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP) in 2013.

The total estimated cost of this project is Rs48.885 million, of which Rs3.608 million has already been spent on the scheme during in the fiscal year 2014-15, while an amount of Rs45.279 million was carried forward.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2015.