Karachi: The Sindh government on Thursday invited the corporate sector to develop and maintain the urban forests facilities within the province, a news source reported. It also announced its decision to provide land and technical assistance to the corporations interested in growing and maintaining urban forests in Karachi and other cities of Sindh.
Sindh Government Secretary for Forest & Wildlife Department Abdul Rahim Soomro expressed his views on the matter during a consultative session on monsoon plantation drive. He highlighted that the plantation along the Lyari Expressway had become the ‘first major success of developing urban forests in Karachi’.
Soomro said that an extensive drive was also underway to recover thousands of acres of forestland from illegal occupants. He added that the provincial government was willing to provide land as well as technical support to the private sector for growing and maintaining urban plantations at any suitable location in the province.
On the other hand, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Environment has also extended its support in this regard. Committee Convenor Naeem Qureshi said that the committee would act as a liaison between the corporate and industrial entities and the provincial Forest Department to boost urban plantation across Sindh – especially in Karachi.
