Tag: Billion Tree Tsunami

  • KYA BOLA? (Dec 2): ‘Darakht Kahan Gye?’, ‘Hakoomti Writ Khatam’, ‘Awam Ki Hifazat Ky Lye Jalsa’

    KYA BOLA? (Dec 2): ‘Darakht Kahan Gye?’, ‘Hakoomti Writ Khatam’, ‘Awam Ki Hifazat Ky Lye Jalsa’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on Dec 2, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    Darakht Kahan Gye?

    Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad has taken notice of the PTI government’s billion tree project. Daily Jang quoted the CJP as saying: “Billion tree project ki tehqeeqaat karain gy…Kaya sary darakht Bani Gala mai laga diay.”

    Hakoomati Writ Khatam

    JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has been quoted by Dunya News as saying: “Hakoomti writ khatam… PDM kisi kisam ky muzakaraat nahi kary gi. Agla lahema-e-amal 8 December of PDM ijlaas mai teh ho ga.”

    Awam Ki Hifazat Ky Lye Jalsa

    PTI leader Andleeb Abbas said that government allowed PDM to organise jalsa in Multan. “Hum ny logon ki jaan-o-maal ki hifazat karni ha, chahy wo corona sy ho ya takhreebkaari sy. Aur jo in ki dando wali takhreebkaari thi hum ny us sy awam ko bachaya aur un ki hifazat ky lye jalsa hony diya.”

  • Coldplay lauds Pakistan’s initiative to give tree-planting jobs to unemployed workers

    Coldplay lauds Pakistan’s initiative to give tree-planting jobs to unemployed workers

    Pakistan’s initiative to help daily-wage workers who have been laid off due to the COVID-19 lockdown by giving them jobs planting trees has caught the attention of British rock band Coldplay who has remarked that the idea is “amazing”. The tweet has been marked CM which stands for Chris Martin.

    The program which was set in motion after Pakistan went into lockdown in late March has been hailed across the world. Under the initiative, unemployed day labourers have been given new jobs as “jungle workers”, planting saplings as part of the country’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami programme.

    Read more – Naya Pakistan: Govt starts paying unemployed people to plant trees

    According to the World Economic Forum, such “green stimulus” efforts are an example of how funds that aim to help families and keep the economy running during pandemic shutdowns could also help nations prepare for the next big threat: climate change.

    The ambitious five-year tree-planting programme, which Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan launched in 2018, aims to counter the rising temperatures, flooding, droughts and other extreme weather conditions in the country that scientists link to climate change.

    Meanwhile, Federal Minister and Adviser to PM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s official Twitter handle thanked Coldplay for acknowledging the government’s efforts and invited them to visit Pakistan once the pandemic is over.

  • Naya Pakistan: Govt starts paying unemployed people to plant trees

    Naya Pakistan: Govt starts paying unemployed people to plant trees

    When construction worker Abdul Rahman lost his job to Pakistan’s coronavirus lockdown, his choices looked stark – resort to begging on the streets or let his family go hungry.

    But the government has now given him a better option: Join tens of thousands of other out-of-work labourers in planting billions of trees across the country to deal with climate change threats, Reuters reported.

    Since Pakistan locked down starting March 23 to try to stem the spread of COVID-19, unemployed day labourers have been given new jobs as “jungle workers”, planting saplings as part of the country’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami programme.

    Such “green stimulus” efforts are an example of how funds that aim to help families and keep the economy running during pandemic shutdowns could also help nations prepare for the next big threat: climate change.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “Due to coronavirus, all the cities have shut down and there is no work. Most of us daily wagers couldn’t earn a living,” Rahman, a resident of Rawalpindi district in Punjab province, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

    He now makes 500 rupees ($3) per day planting trees – about half of what he might have made on a good day, but enough to get by.

    “All of us now have a way of earning daily wages again to feed our families,” he said.

    The ambitious five-year tree-planting programme, which Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan launched in 2018, aims to counter the rising temperatures, flooding, droughts and other extreme weather in the country that scientists link to climate change.

  • Billion Tree Tsunami: NAB detects Rs462 million loss to exchequer

    Billion Tree Tsunami: NAB detects Rs462 million loss to exchequer

    A loss of Rs462 million to the public exchequer has been detected by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as it conducted its initial inquiry into the Billion Tree Tsunami Project of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), The News reported.

    NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal had authorised the inquiry against the flagship project in March last year.

    “The NAB regional office has recommended to the headquarters for upgrading the inquiry along with authorisation for separate investigations and six inquiries to unearth the mega scam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP),” the report said.

    Meanwhile, an officer was quoted as saying that NAB officials “had checked only 10 to 20 per cent of only one region out of three, which is the smallest region as compared to Hazara and Swat.

    In 2014, the then PTI-led KP government had started the Billion Tree Tsunami Project with Rs14.32 billion utilised for the project execution by the Forest Department.

    Allegations of ghost labour, misappropriation and embezzlement of daily wages, enclosures failure and payments against ghost plantations were received by the anti-graft body at its Peshawar bureau earlier.

    According to official documents, during the initial inquiry based on proceedings conducted so far, a loss of Rs462 million has been detected. The NAB reports further disclosed that due to the shortfall in the hectare-wise plantation area in Dera Ismail Khan, a loss of Rs80.044 million has been detected.

    The regional NAB office has recommended the headquarters to convert the ongoing inquiry into a proper investigation to probe the case. It further recommended four investigations against the divisional forest officer and others regarding misuse of authority, embezzlement, corruption and corrupt practices.

    Furthermore, six additional inquiries were also recommended against the officers and officials of the KP Forest Department and others regarding embezzlement, misappropriation, corruption, and corrupt practices in procurement of seeds, polythene bags, machinery, vehicles and office equipment in forest region 1, 2 and 3.

    While NAB sources were quoted as confirming that the matter is under scrutiny as per law, media has reportedly been requested to avoid speculations in this regard.