QMC finalise plans for olive plantation in Quetta

QUETTA:

Quetta Metropolitan Corporation (QMC) has decided to plant olive trees on public-private partnership basis to reduce pollution, address environmental issues and boost the green cover in the provincial capital.

Talking to APP, Quetta administrator, Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat said that state land would be allocated on lease to private firms for olive trees plantation at various sites specified in Quetta.

According to the plan, resource management tasks such as silviculture, inventories, planning, reforestation, monitoring and harvesting of crops would be carried out by the private sector.

Shafqaat said the tree plantation would generate direct and indirect socioeconomic, ecological and environmental benefits for the local people. The initiative would also help keep the land free from illegal encroachments and constructions, and to make the environment more beautiful and attractive.

The Quetta administration also plans to establish ‘Miyawaki forest’ at different places of the city to reduce city’s increasing temperature. Shafqaat said the aggressive plantation would help in controlling the growing environmental pollution and be useful for boosting oxygen levels in the atmosphere.

The Quetta administrator was of the view that the civic authority would enhance forestation through such unique techniques. He said available resources would be utilised to protect the natural resources which were necessary for preserving green environment. Shaqaat emphasised the need for formation of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) in the province to add greenery and preserve provincial horticulture.

He observed that more efforts were needed to maintain and renovate the public parks along modern lines in a bid to provide recreational opportunity to the city’s residents.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2024.