Govt to turn barren lands into forests

Massive tree plantation campaign to commence in all districts, tehsils of Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI:

With an aim to turn all public and private unproductive barren lands into forests with the active participation of landowners, the Punjab Forest Department (Extension) Rawalpindi Division will start a massive tree plantation campaign in all districts and tehsils of the division.

This was stated by President of Punjab Forest Guards and Foresters Association Hafiz Sajjad in a meeting held on Monday.

Vice President of the Foresters Association Mian Imran, District Range Officer Chakwal Sher Afzal Raja and others were present on the occasion.

“Growing forests on barren and uncultivated privately owned lands under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Movement is our prime concern,” said DRO Sher Afzal Raja.

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He added that thousands of kanals of such private land in Chakwal District had so far have turned into dense forest.

All field staff, including forest officers and forest guards of the Division, had set targets to approach landowners for the purpose.

He said, apart from this, they will distribute millions of saplings among farming community and those who can plant and take care of them after planting.

He appealed to the farmers and cultivators to resettle their barren lands through afforestation and announced that the forest department would provide them saplings at the rate of Rs2 per seedling.