Forest Department to plant 14m trees

The Punjab Forest Department plans to plant 14 million trees during the campaign to be launched on the Plantation Day.

LAHORE: The Punjab Forest Department plans to plant 14 million trees during the campaign to be launched on the National Tree Plantation Day, which is to be observed on August 10 this year instead of August 18 in view of Ramzan.

The department will plant trees in all major forests across Punjab while plantation in the flood-hit areas will be undertaken later.

Abdul Basit, a Forest Department spokesperson, said over 100,000 trees will be planted in Murree, where the campaign is likely to be launched by the chief minister.

Although the plan includes planting all kind of trees, he said, the main objective of the campaign is to educate people about the importance of tree plantation.

He said 571 sale points would be set up across the Punjab where a sapling would be sold for Rs2.

“Trees will be planted on government as well as privately-owned land. In cantonment areas, the plantations will be done in coordination with the Defence Department.”

Basit said the department had delayed its plan to plant trees in Dera Ghazi Khan and across southern Punjab as a major chunk of the land there was still flooded.

“We plan to start planting trees as soon as the water levels there recede,” he said.

He added that the campaign will run until the department reaches its target.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2010.