LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Forests, Wildlife and Fisheries Mian Yawar Zaman on Tuesday inaugurated the Monsoon Tree Plantation Campaign 2017 in Punjab under which more than 12 million saplings will be planted.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony here at Karol Jungle, Mian Yawar Zaman said that targets of planting 5.85 million saplings on forest lands, 0.71 million on lands of Defense Institutions, 2.22 million on the land of other government departments and 3.22 million on private lands have been fixed.
The minister said that the main objective of the campaign was to create awareness among people to plant maximum trees so that problems of environmental pollution could be controlled.
He said that people from every walk of life should realise their responsibilities and come forward to take part in the campaign so that Punjab’s dire need of wood and energy could be fulfilled.
The provincial minister said that apart from the current tree plantation campaign, the forest department would plant saplings on 10,600 acres of land.
He said that the department had set up 353 sale points throughout the province for the convenience of the general public, where 24.093 million plants had been made available.
Mian Yawar Zaman said that during the current drive, awareness walks, advertisements, radio programs and TV talk shows would be organised to highlight the importance and benefits of tree plantation. He said that at the time of creation of Pakistan, there was only two percent forest area, out of total area of the province but now the ratio has been increased up to 3.1 percent which is still less than the required ratio. He said that it was the need of the hour to increase the forest area by accelerating the speed of plantation process. He said that government could not achieve the task alone and in this regard, people belonging to all walks of life should come forward and play their role.
Addressing the ceremony, Provincial Secretary Forests Jehanzeb Khan said that on special directions of Punjab CM, farmers would be provided financial assistance for plantation of saplings on 11,850 acres of land under “Kissan Package” and out of total cost, 70 percent expenses would be borne by the government in this regard while 30 percent by the farmers. He said that this scheme would not only raise the living standard of farmers but also make them prosperous.
Later, the minister and secretary appealed to the masses to ensure their maximum participation in monsoon tree plantation campaign and plant a tree to provide a neat, clean and pollution free atmosphere to the next generation.
