Punjab launches 48,368-acre tree plantation drive

CM's initiative aims to plant trees over 48,368 acres to combat air pollution and enhance environmental beauty.

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Punjab has launched an extensive tree plantation campaign under the "Chief Minister Plant for Pakistan" initiative, aiming to plant trees over 48,368 acres of land in the province.

Senior Minister of Punjab, Maryam Aurangzeb, stated that under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the target has been set to plant 42.5 million saplings.

For the fiscal year 2024-25, the plan is to plant 7.361 million trees over 8,496 acres of land. For this purpose, 1.8 billion rupees have been allocated in the current fiscal year, with 1.085 billion rupees already spent, accounting for 60% of the total budget.

She further mentioned that during the spring season, 5.966 million trees would be planted over 6,637 acres of land. Tree plantation is taking place at over 300 locations across Punjab, including Lahore, Kasur, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Murree, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, and Muzaffargarh.

The project includes a variety of trees, such as Moringa, Pine, Neem, Acacia, Shisham, Mustard, Bakaian, Semal, and Arjun, along with fruit-bearing trees. These will not only reduce air pollution but also enhance the environmental beauty of the region.

The project, which is expected to cost a total of 8 billion rupees, aims to green forests, riverbanks, roadsides, the Pothohar region, Murree, and desert areas. To date, 2.73 million saplings have been planted on 4,000 acres of land, and the project is progressing rapidly.

Maryam Aurangzeb emphasized that these efforts are not only crucial for environmental protection but will also lay the foundation for a greener and healthier Punjab for future generations.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government is going to establish Parks and Horticulture Authorities (PHA) at the district level to create a "Green Punjab."

These authorities will focus on eradicating smog pollution, renovating old parks and constructing new ones, with a funding of billions of rupees. The PHAs will operate directly under the Punjab government, bypassing the Forest Department and district administrations.

At present, PHAs function in ten divisional headquarters all over Punjab, including Lahore, Sahiwal, Multan, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Gujrat. Their primary task is to maintain parks and build green belts to improve the environment and eliminate smog.

According to the available records, there are three to four large and 40 to 70 small parks in other major cities of Punjab, which were first supervised by the Forest Department and now will be under the jurisdiction of the PHA. Furthermore, there are about 900 parks and more than 2,000 green belts and parking areas in Lahore alone.