Lahore, 16th July 2020: A few days ago Pakistan achieved its goal given by the UN to prevent climate change 10 years before the deadline.
However, as of today, World Bank (WB) has decided to fine the Punjab government for failing to utilize a $200 million loan meant for the province’s Green Development Programme.
The Green Development Programme aims to promote green investment and strengthen environmental governance.
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Punjab is Pakistan’s biggest province with the highest population, it signed the Green Development Programme with the World Bank in 2018, and it was supposed to continue till 2023.
The project is nearly halfway through but the Punjab government has failed to launch the program and use the loan granted for this purpose.
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“Five environment department secretaries have been replaced over the last two years for failing to implement the program. The failure has prompted the World Bank to impose a fine of $200,000, which will be deducted from the principal amount of the loan. The Auditor General of Pakistan, while also raising objections on the non-implementation of the program, has called for collecting the fine from the sacked environment department top officers,” an official told Express Tribune.
Environment Secretary Zahid Hussain has started to oversee the program himself and has promised favorable results. Due to the poor management of the Punjab government, the program has been extended by 2 years.
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Sources said WB has also released the second tranche of $25 million to assist in implementation. “The government has formed an implementation unit comprised of highly capable senior officers,” another official said. “No one thought of doing this in the past two years,” he added.
“We have started work on all Green Development Programme schemes, despite the risk presented by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Environment Secretary Zahid Hussain told The Express Tribune. “We have submitted a quarterly and full-year plan to the World Bank. Now there is no obstacle in the implementation of this important program,” he added.
The total investment required in the project is predicted to be around Rs 45 billion. The World Bank is also providing $50 million for an environment endowment fund whereas the Punjab government is also investing $50 million on its own.
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