SUKKUR: Sukkur Comm­issioner Fayyaz Hussain Abbasi has formed a task force to launch a ‘million tree project’ with the next 15 days as soon as veteran Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader MNA Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah floated the idea at a meeting here on Monday.

The meeting, presided over by Mr Shah, was convened to discuss environmental degradation in Sukkur city and other parts of the district with reference to the climate change impact on different sectors in the region.

The meeting was also attended by Sukkur’s municipal commissioner and senior officials of the irrigation, forest, revenue, agriculture and other departments.

Khursheed Shah underscored the need for the establishment of ‘green belts’ across the city and launching a vigorous tree plantation campaign to improve the environment. “While improvement of education, health and other sectors is important, improvement of environment is of equal importance,” he argued.

Commissioner forms task force, asks it to start work within 15 days

He told participants of the meeting, and also heads of all the departments concerned, to make serious efforts in this regard. He said tree plantation on a large scale was vital to deal with climate change impacts.

He set the plantation target of 500,000 to one million trees and said they should be planted all along both embankments of the Indus River. MNA Shah asked the Sukkur commissioner to coordinate with the irrigation department to get the project executed. A third party should also be invited to join the venture, he said.

He directed the deputy commissioner to prepare a list of all landowners of the project area and encourage them to plant trees. He proposed that a strategy should be chalked out to extend water tax waiver to such growers.

‘Tree felling should be an offense’

According to Syed Khursheed Shah, tree felling is a crime in many countries and such offense is punishable, but in Pakistan the practice is not punishable and that’s why senseless people are seen chopping off trees without any fear. He pointed out that this widespread practice was turning subsoil water in Sukkur salty.

He was of the view that cutting of trees, if at all necessary, must be subjected to permission from the deputy commissioner concerned.

MNA Shah said that municipal authorities must make it sure that their employees were discharging their duties regularly and efficiently as this was necessary to prevent environmental degradation.

Meanwhile, Sukkur Comm­issioner Fayyaz Abbasi immediately constituted a task force comprising officials of the agriculture, forest, Irrigation, revenue, police and other departments to start work on the million tree project. The task force is headed by the Sukkur deputy commissioner.

It has been asked to start the assigned job within the next 15 days and also hold meetings with community leaders on the establishment of the green belts and launching of tree plantation drive in the city.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2024