LAHORE, Sept 17: The Pakistan Army took over around 7,000 acres of land in the Khanewal district for developing a model forest but leased it out to tenants instead.
This was stated by MPA Makhdoom Syed Muhammad Mukhtar Hussain Shah during the Friday session of Punjab Assembly.
The army had originally demanded 500 acres for constructing an ammunition depot, but later increased its demand for land and ended up taking over around 7,000 acres on the plea that it would develop a model forest on 5,000 acres and return it to the forest department.
A formal agreement was signed between the forest secretary and the GHQ for the purpose, the Makhdoom said. But instead of developing a new forest, it cut the already existing trees and leased out the land to tenants for Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 per acre, he added.
Minister for Forest Dr Ashfaqur Rehman denied signing of an agreement in this regard and said that land in possession of the forest department in fact belonged to the revenue department. The forest department is a lessee and cannot sublet the land.
Whatever the Pakistan Army has taken, it has taken from the revenue department and there was no possibility of an agreement between the forest department and the GHQ. He, however, conceded that plans for establishment of an ammunition depot and other things had been delayed and the army was using the land for other feasible purposes for the time being.
Responding to questions, the minister said that the government had stopped planting eucalyptus trees in the province. Rather it was cutting them down and replacing them with other varieties. The tree, which was planted under a national scheme in the early nineties, had damaged the soil, and the damage was more than its benefits.
He told the house that around 20 million trees were cut every year for firewood but replaced regularly. Talking about the success of tree plantation drive every year, he said that the success rate was around 86 per cent. Only 14 per cent trees die during the plantation campaign.
The minister also told the House that government was cutting old trees along the canals and replacing it with new ones. Shesham tree normally had a life span of 25 to 30 years. In some cases, they had grown as old as 50 years and the government was in the process of replacing them.
The minister said that government was giving different kinds of incentives to growers of forests. Forests were necessary on 10 to 25 per cent of land to keep the environment clean whereas the Punjab had forests only on 3.1 per cent of land.
In order to keep the forests safe, staff were being provided wireless sets and small arms. In 1947, Pakistan had only three trees per acre. The figure had now gone up to 17 per acre.
The minister further told the House that Shesham tree was suffering from a disease and getting dry and dying. The problem is not limited to Pakistan alone. Other regional countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were also suffering from the same problem. Pakistan has launched a five-year plan to identify and rectify the problem.