News Details

28/07/2017

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak revealed that the billion-tree-tsunami introduced by the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was almost complete.

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak revealed that the billion-tree-tsunami introduced by the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was almost complete. The total cost of the project is Rs. 14 billion out of which Rs. 10 billion had been spent on plantation drive and another Rs. 4 billion would be required for looking after of the huge plantation drive. His government took the entire responsibilities of the country in the backdrop of rapid climatic change as we wanted to give our coming generation a green Pakistan. He said the province has the capacity to produce 70,000 megawatt of hydel power generation and 25000 megawatt of electricity on run of the river. However, his government initiated different projects to produce 4000 megawatt of electricity which would soon start bringing thousand to 1500 megawatt of electricity to the national grid annually. We have a plan for the whole of Pakistan, it is our country and we have to protect it and stop its vulnerability in the backdrop of climate change, he remarked. He was talking to Federal Minister for Climate Change, Zahid Hamed at Pakhtunkhwa House, Islamabad today. Federal and Provincial Secretaries and other staff attended. Regarding the billion tree tsunami, the Chief Minister said his government was on the target to complete the billion tree tsunami project and it was almost complete. He said his government introduced the culture of raising nurseries and sensitizing the people for tree plantation drive and included the community to make the drive a success story. Pervez Khattak talked about the drive, dividing the whole province into three zones that included northern districts, central districts and southern districts. He said that forestation was taken as a national obligation and the people were taken onboard who became the real stakeholders in the whole drive even those who had offered their land for plantation were given certain incentives and one person was recruited for looking after of the tree plantation on the land of private parties. Chief Minister regretted that the timber mafia played havoc with the precious forests, cutting trees in the grab of windfall laws etc. The employees of the department bravely fought against the timber mafia and even laid down their lives while fighting against it. He said, he brought legislation to block the timber mafia. The government faced a lot of problems in the process but it showed commitment and gave ownership to the entire drive against the timber mafia. It was a fight of our future and we did not compromise on it. Pervez Khattak said that his government had a lot of advantages feasible for hydel power generation projects. Regretablly these were ignored in the past but his government started these projects for the production of cheap electricity adding that his leader Imran Khan has the vision to do justice to everyone and invest in human resource development. His government made a record legislations to reform the system. It eliminated favoritism and nepotism and brought a transparent system for the recruitment of employees in different departments through NTS adding his government made autonomous bodies and was about to eliminate the role of the government in these autonomous bodies. He said he wishes that the government should focus on governance related issues. Now our institutions are autonomous that was a step towards new Pakistan, he added. The Federal Minister appreciated the billion tree tsunami project and asked the provincial government to send the names of two martyred employees of the forest department who laid down their lives while fighting the timber mafia and who would be given gallantry award. The federal government also hinted to replicate the provincial model of billion tree tsunami project at federal level. This success story should be followed by other provinces, he added. He also asked the Chief Minister to prepare some projects for climate change and tourism which would be funded by the federal government. He also accepted the invitation to visit the billion tree tsunami sites in the province. =====.