Punjab cabinet approves National Park in Salt Range

Tree felling, hunting to be banned on 13,700 acres

LAHORE: Punjab government has approved development of Sambli (North) Reserve Forest as the Salt Range National Park with an area of 13,700 acres.

The decision was made in a meeting of the provincial cabinet held at a hotel on Thursday.

Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired the meeting, which decided that cutting of trees and hunting would be banned in the national park and its land would not be used for any other purpose.

The chief minister instructed the officials concerned to constitute a management committee to oversee the park affairs. The meeting approved the issuance of the notification of the national park.

The provincial cabinet also approved appointment of Maj (retd) Azam Suleman as the provincial ombudsman.

It decided to constitute a committee headed by Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan to prepare an interim policy for releasing wheat to flour mills.

The cabinet also approved amendments to The Cooperative Societies Act, 1925 and The Punjab Undesirable Cooperative Societies Dissolution Act, 1993.

Addressing the participants, Buzdar praised the food department for procuring record wheat reserves during the current season,  after a gap of 10 years. He highlighted that the Punjab government now had ample wheat reserves and full attention would be paid to providing relief to the people through the wheat release policy.

He also asked the ministers to actively attend the budget session of Punjab Assembly.

Provincial ministers and MPAs also called on the chief minister at his chamber set up in the hotel. Talking to them, he said the government was focused on the development of every area and the lawmakers should work hard for the solution of people's problems.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2020.