KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Local Government and Forests Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has asked concerned officials to immediately start lawful action, including lodging of criminal cases against those involved in tree cutting in Sindh province.
While chairing a meeting of heads of different municipal agencies in Sindh, he said there should be a complete ban on tree cutting in all over Sindh. He said that due care should be given to ensure the protection of existing trees at the venue of a new development project in Sindh.
On the occasion, a committee was also constituted to prevent the frequent instances of cutting mangrove trees in coastal zones of Sindh. The minister further said that tree plantation should be carried out on a necessary basis around all new and under-construction development projects.
The minister said that the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) would also ensure that there was ample provision for tree plantation in new building projects in Sindh.
On the occasion, Sindh Local Government Secretary Roshan Ali Shaikh said that a plan had been prepared by the provincial Local Government Department to ensure plantation at 4,000 different places of spots in Sindh.
He said that the implementation of the plan would start soon. He said that certain portions of public parks in Sindh would be reserved so that prospective non-governmental organizations could carry out plantation campaigns there to uplift the status of these parks.
President of National Forum for Environment and Health Naeem Qureshi said that the policies regarding adopt-a-park and public-private partnerships should be acted upon by the government to upgrade the status of public parks in Sindh. He said that the corporate sector and different community groups could play an important role in this regard.
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