230,000 hectares brought under forest cover in KP, claims minister

PESHAWAR: Minister for Forestry, Environment and Wildlife Muhammad Ishtiaq Urmar has said that afforestation has been carried out over an area of 230,000 hectares in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Briefing reporters here on Thursday, he said the Billion Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP) would continue till June 2020. He said that 1,208 million plants were added to the forest resource of the province.

He added the afforestation project would cost Rs27 billion from 2019-20 to June 2023. He said that one billion trees would be planted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Some 543 hectares departmental nurseries and 117 private nurseries (through women) were established and 138.22 million seedlings were raised. He said plantation and sowing/dibbling was carried out over an area of 16,994 hectares under 10-BTTP both in settled and newly merged districts. The minister said a total of 26 million plants were planted and freely distributed. He said 37 million seedlings were grown through Assisted Natural Regeneration in 1632 enclosures established in settled and newly merged areas.

The government formulated 2060 Village Development Committees (VDCs) and 200 Women Organisations (WOs) for effective management of forestry resources including BTAP, he said, adding, Rs53.907 million collected during 2018-19 and Rs717.164 million under the Forest Development Fund (FDF).