CM launches plantation drive today

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan will formally inaugurate the plant for Pakistan drive in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday at Shahkas Area adjacent to Mehsud Scouts of District Khyber under which five million saplings will be planted throughout the province.

According to details 150,000 saplings will be planted in Peshawar alone whereas similar plantation drive will be carried out by the district administrations, forest department, education department and all concerned line departments in all the districts of the province.

It is pertinent to mention here that under the previous PTI led provincial government one billion afforestation project was successfully completed due to which the forest cover of the province has increased by 6.3 per cent. Additionally the project also provided job opportunities to more than 500000 individuals, whereas according to the reports of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the survival rate of the plantation i.e 88% was reported highly satisfactory.

Forest dept sets multiple targets for plantation

According to statement issued from the Chief Minister Secretariat, The presented government is committed to plant 1 billion trees during its current tenure in order to cope with challenges of global warming and environmental pollution along with providing livelihood opportunities to its citizens.

Chief Minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has univocally stated that incumbent government has extended the plantation drive to the newly merged tribal districts adding that under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan is destined to progress and thrive encompassing all aspects of development.

He further said that the afforestation project will also help in promoting eco-tourism in the province which is in accordance with the present government’s commitment to turn Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa into a tourist hub for national and international tourists.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2019.