Ministry of Environment has set a target to plant 58.620 million plants across the country during the current spring season.
Different government departments at provincial level as well as in Azad Kashmir are going to be fully involved to make the campaign a success.
Minister of State for Environment Major Tahir Iqbal (Retd) launched the Spring Tree Plantation Campaign by planting a sapling of Bauhinia Variegate (kachnar) in the federal capital couple of days back. Sources told APP on Saturday, provincial and AJK forest departments, CDA and different other departments and divisions have been given a target to plant saplings.
Out of the set target of 58.600 million plants the Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan forest departments will plant 20 million, seven million, 10 million and one million saplings respectively.
Similarly, the AJK forest department will plant 10 million trees, Northern Areas forest department three million, Soil Conservation Directorate Rawalpindi 0.400 million, CDA 0. 300 million, Watershed Management Mangla 1.960 million, Rachna Doab Afforestation Project 0.960 million and Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd will plant 4.00 million trees.
The sources said besides all the four provincial governments and the AJK government, 13 other divisions and departments have been given different targets for tree plantation.
The Defence Production Division will plant 50,000 trees, Defence Division one million, Interior Division 60,000, Education Division 60,000, Health Division 2,000 and Higher Education Commission will plant 500,000 trees.
The government launches tree plantation campaign twice every year with one during the monsoon season and the other during the spring season.
Millions of saplings of different species are planted every year with an aim to ensure clean environment in the country and meet the timber-related needs of the people.
In the federal capital, Spring Tree Plantation Campaign has been launched at the site from where a large number of trees were cut during last couple of months.
The sources said, this time the government is focusing on planting indigenous species of plants and particularly in the federal capital, it has planned to replace the Paper Mulberry tress with Kachnar plants.