PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has directed the concerned authorities to finalize modalities for the re-launch of the Billion Tree Plus project in the province.
Chairman of the Ministry of Forests, Environment and Wildlife meeting at Chief Minister House Peshawar said that this is an important initiative to increase the forest area in the province, said a press release issued here on Thursday.
The CM directed the concerned authorities to prepare a concrete and feasible action plan to stop deforestation and increase the revenue of the department.
He also directed the wildlife department to prepare proposals and action plans to promote fisheries.
To prevent illegal felling of trees and deforestation in the province, the CM ordered to revise the existing rate of fines and increase them to such an extent that the amount of fines is higher than the value of illegally harvested timber.
He directed the installation of CCTV cameras at the check post to keep a close eye on timber smuggling.
Matters related to the implementation of scientific forest management were also discussed at the meeting.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also chaired a meeting regarding the Peshawar-DI Khan Expressway, where he was briefed in detail about the progress of the project, the total cost and the proposed installment.
The CM directed the authorities concerned to consider the possibility of constructing the expressway on BOT (Built Operate Transfer) mode.
Apart from Provincial Forest Minister Fazal Hakeem, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amjad Ali Khan, Forest Minister Nazar Hussain Shah and senior officials of the Forest Department attended the meeting. The Chief Minister was briefed in detail about the administrative matters, performance, objectives and other matters of the department.
