Daily Times

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination convened on Monday with a sharp focus on the pressing issue of deforestation, alongside other critical environmental challenges expressed concerns over massive tree cutting taking place in the country.

Chaired by Member National Assembly (MNA), Munaza Hassan, here the meeting featured comprehensive discussions on the urgent need for formulating effective strategies and regional-specific policies to counter rapid deforestation in Pakistan.

The Chairperson in her opening remarks, emphasised the importance of collective efforts to address climate change. The Chair stressed the importance of immediate and concerted action to tackle deforestation, calling for increased collaboration and effective enforcement of environmental policies.

The Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change acknowledged the committee’s pivotal role in driving climate initiatives, requesting members to contribute their insights and proposals.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change provided a comprehensive briefing on the Ministry’s operations, highlighting the manifold impacts of climate change, the necessity of global collaboration, and the ministry’s efforts in planning and policy-making. The presentation covered various climate challenges, including floods in 2022, climate finance, and ongoing projects such as the Green Pakistan initiative.

The Committee members engaged in a robust discussion, raising concerns about the implementation of climate policies, deforestation, and the need for regional-specific approaches. The Committee emphasized the importance of local stakeholder engagement and better coordination with provincial authorities and organizations such as National Disaster Management Authority and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities.

The Committee recommended enhancing coordination with provincial authorities to ensure effective implementation of deforestation policies. They emphasized the need for comprehensive strategies to combat deforestation, and stressed the importance of preserving forests. Additionally, the Committee called for involving local stakeholders and representatives in policy-making to ensure that various initiatives are tailored to regional needs.

Separately, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways on Monday constituted a Sub-Committee to address issues of railway land encroachments and leases and will submit its report to the Standing Committee in 30 days.

The Standing Committee on Railways, chaired by Rai Hassan Nawaz, MNA, appointed Ramesh Lal, MNA, as convenor of the Sub-Committee, with Waseem Qadir, Ahmed Saleem Siddiqui, and Zulfiqar Ali, MNAs, as members. The meeting was held in the Committee Room of the Ministry of Railways, “D” Block, Pak-Secretariat, Islamabad.

The Ministry of Railways provided the Committee with a detailed briefing on its operations and performance, followed by an in-depth discussion and recommendations to support the Ministry and its departments.

At the outset, the Secretary, Ministry of Railways apprised the Committee that the Ministry looking after all the matters pertaining to Pakistan Railways, safety/maintenance of railway lines for strategic reasons and coordinating in development projects of railways as a part of the national development program.

He said that the Ministry also negotiated with international organizations and other countries and implemented the agreements with them. While briefing on the transport and economy at the macroeconomic level, the Secretary informed the Committee that transportation is linked to a level of output, employment and income. He said that transportation accounts between 6% and 12% of the GDP in many countries.

Logistic costs can account between 6% and 25% of the GDP, he added. However, at the microeconomic level, transportation is linked with producer, consumer and distribution costs. He further stated that transportation accounted, on average, between 10% and 15% of household expenditure.

The Secretary also briefed about various issues combating by Ministry of Railways. He explained that 95% of budget was being utilized on pension, pay and fuel. There was no targeted subsidy for Ministry. The priority of the Government was road network instead of Railways network in the country. He also informed the Committee regarding cost cutting and revenue optimization, restructuring, rightsizing, improvement, upgradation and expansion in railways.

The meeting was attended by Waseem Qadir, Sadiq Ali Memon, Rafiq Ahmed Jamali, Ramesh Lal, Ahmed Saleem Siddiqui, Mohammad Ilyas Choudhary, Fazil Muhammad Khan, Syed Shah Ahad Ali Shah, Zulfiqar Ali and Shafqat Abbas, MNAs. The senior officers from Ministry of Railways and Pakistan Railways were also present in the meeting.