On The Backburner: Forest dept short of staff, budget

RAWALPINDI: Thousands of saplings planted by the Punjab forest department in Rawalpindi Division last year have died due to lack of care, a forest official said. The official, who requested not to be named, said the department planted 0.5 million saplings in several areas of Rawalpindi including Kotli Sattian, Kahuta, Murree and Gujar Khan. Of them, he said over 0.1 million have failed to grow because of lack of attention by the department. The reason, he said, was that the department is understaffed and cash-strapped. He said Rs160 million were allocated to the forest department in fiscal year 2014-15, which he said was insufficient to look after the millions of saplings planted every year.  Another official said most plants died as they were not provided sufficient water, adding that many plants are left on the mercy of rainwater. He said the department had only four tractors and four water bores for the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2015.