GUJRAT: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Saturday lashed out at the past rulers of Punjab for, what he called, causing substantial damage to its capital’s green cover which had adversely affected the air quality in Lahore.

“We see Lahore engulfed by fog every winter due to the past rulers of the city, who had cut trees for erecting a jungle of concrete there which badly affected green cover of Lahore and its surroundings,” he said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of ‘Green Day Plantation’ in his home town of Jhelum.

He said before Imran Khan, there was no serious discussion on environment in the country due to a lack of leadership which could stress on forestation and Eco-friendly activities.

Fawad said it seemed that those who built palatial residences for themselves might have forgotten that they would feel suffocated in those concrete structures without planting trees.

The minister said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was the first to popularise the concept of ‘billion tree tsunami’ project when it came into power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Fawad said it was the PM’s vision to leave behind a safe and secure environment for the coming generations as respiratory ailments and deadly disease like cancer were already on the rise because of a lack of focus on environment by the past rulers.

He said a jungle spanning over 10,500 acres in Jhelum district had been preserved by the present government.

“We will plant 25,000 trees on 20,000 acres land today (Saturday) here,” he said while asking the audience to clap for around 6,000 students who came to participate in the plantation activity.

Expressing gratitude to the envoys of different countries for attending the Green Day Plantation, the minister said, “I hope you will be able to tell this beautiful story that how these children actually contributed in a big way towards environment.”

The minister also shed the light on the mega projects carried out by the present government in Jhelum. He said Lillah-Jhelum dual carriageway would soon transform the economy of Jhelum and its adjacent areas. Similarly, he said, Jalalpur Canal project would irrigate 178,000 acres in Jhelum district after its completion.The minister said the agricultural economy and industrial sector got a new boost during the present government’s tenure.

He said the government was making serious efforts to control inflation which went up in the country due to global inflation.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2021