Jordan Times
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Badran briefed on action plans of municipal, environment ministries
AMMAN (Petra) — Around nine of the country's 99 municipalities are burdened with heavy debts and require urgent assistance, Minister of Municipal Affairs Tawfiq Kreishan said on Saturday.
The minister told Prime Minister Adnan Badran
yesterday that these municipalities needed restructuring to enable them to
collect their dues from homes and other establishments in order to become
self-reliant.
Kreishan said his ministry was awaiting Parliament's endorsement of a new
municipalities law in order to conduct municipal elections.
Also on Saturday, Minister of Environment Khalid Irani briefed the premier on
his ministry's strategy and work plan.
Irani outlined a control and inspection plan, which would enable his ministry to
enforce environmental controls on factories — mainly those operating in the
industrial estates.
The ministry's inspection programme will focus on industrial and agricultural
installations. Irani said ministerial committees had been formed to follow up on
rehabilitation of the Zarqa River, emissions from the Jordan Petroleum Refinery
Company, pollution caused by phosphate fallout and the flies infesting the
Jordan Valley region.
Irani said these concerned hot spots would top the list of priorities of the
Environment Ministry and other concerned ministries, noting that there should be
an environmental evaluation of proposed projects to avoid similar problems in
the future.