PESHAWAR, July 19: The NWFP forest department will plant 10.13 million saplings during the monsoon plantation campaign.

NWFP Environment Secretary Noorul Haq told APP here on Wednesday that the forest department had sent the saplings to people and organisations concerned.

He said the province had been divided into five circles for the purpose – Southern, Fata, Abbottabad, Malakand and Watershed areas – where 3.664 million, 3.417 million, 1.310 million, 0.949 million and 0.786 million saplings would be planted, respectively.

Mr Haq, who also holds the portfolio of secretary for wildlife, forests, fisheries and transport, said maximum area of the province would be covered during the campaign.

He said 8.036 million saplings would be planted through government departments, 0.323 million through defence forces and the share of village developmental committees was 0.175 million.

He said educational institutions, NGOs/other organisations and farmers/general public had been given the target of 0.088 million, 0.256 million and 0.544 million saplings, respectively.

Mr Haq said a target of planting 0.879 million saplings had been given to the Forestry Sector Project in Southern, Abbottabad and Malakand circles.

He said that in the Southern circle, comprising Peshawar, Mardan, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Kohat districts, 3.664 million samplings would be planted on an area of 5,097 acres and 1.310 million saplings would be planted in Abbottabad circle.

Against federal government’s target of planting 17.30 million samplings, the NWFP government had planted 18.584 million plants in the province during the spring plantation campaign.

He said 2.521 million saplings in the Southern circle, 2.143 million in Fata, 2.369 million in Abbottabad, 3.378 million in Watershed areas and 8.173 million in the Malakand circle had been planted during the spring campaign.

The environment secretary said 18.584 million samplings had been planted with the help of village development committees, farmers, defence forces, educational institutions, general public, NGOs, forest department and the Forestry Sector Project.

“We are focusing on local communities through their respective village development committees to carry out most of plantation,” he said. He said farmers would be facilitated in planting trees on their fields.

He said through a radio programme – Karkilla – focus would be made on the plantation campaign. In villages and mountainous areas, he said, collective plantations would be organised through district governments and village development committees.—APP