Beautifying the City one step at a time

A butterfly garden in Jallo Park is in the works.

LAHORE:

The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) has its hands full with two big projects that include the establishment of a butterfly garden in Jallo Park and beautifying the area in the vicinity of Minto Park.

The Authority is also expected to focus its energy on planting trees and eradicating corruption and nepotism in the department. Board of Governors vice-chairman Iftikhar Ahmad said the PHA was planning to plant more indigenous species this year. He said the authority had been carrying out its activities earlier with little or no regard for local weather conditions. Ahmad said the board of governors had decided in 2014 to plant trees suited to the climate. He said the PHA had planted fruit-trees along the canal. Ahmad said the authority had not planted fruit trees along thoroughfares as they could potentially compromise the smooth flow of traffic. He said the board of governors was striving to implement solutions in light of weather conditions and the authority’s objectives. Ahmad said 10,000 plants were being propagated at a nursery in Sattukatla area for the city. He said an organisational chart should be formulated and promotions should be made on merit. Ahmad said postings and transfers obstructed progress on ongoing projects. He said the PHA’s butterfly park project would start bearing fruit in April. Ahmad said the authority had been trying to get assistance from the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation’s Horticulture Department as both cities had similar climates. He said citizens needed to take ownership of their city. Ahmad said the authority had asked people to identify spots for beautification through a newspaper advertisement in vain as the initiative had generated no response. He said all the authority’s efforts would be rendered futile if it failed to secure citizen’s goodwill.



Rafay Alam, another member of the board of governors, said the enshrining of meritorious employment criteria constituted the board’s greatest annual achievement for the year. He said the implementation of minimum wage and employee documentation would motivate workers to perform to the best of their abilities. Alam said the authority was only planning to promote roses instead of chrysanthemums during the spring festival as roses were indigenous to the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2015.