Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul said that the ministry of climate change will use Global Position System (GPS) for effective monitoring and evaluation of the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami (10 BTT) plantation project.
This would help people get in touch with their respective district forest officers (DFOs), chief commissioners and other officials responsible for managing plantation in their respective domains to monitor and give their input to improve plantation in their districts, she said this in an exclusive talk with APP.
Zartaj recommended Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to plant trees in the federal capital instead of staging a sit-in. “Planting more trees in the metropolis will help Maulana to conserve the environment and get a reward from Almighty Allah,” she added.
She said the provincial forest departments and authorities concerned are already on board and have a clear agenda for implementing 10BTT.
To a question, she said the parliamentarians had a key role in the success of these initiatives like 10BTT and the plastic bag ban.
Unless the parliamentarians are not going to take the lead in monitoring their constituencies the issues of poor implementation and price hike in household items cannot be controlled. I am personally monitoring my constituency and keep myself aware of the situation pertaining to prices of goods and plantation and remain in close coordination with the district management to provide relief to the masses.
Responding to another query, she said the ban on plastic bags cannot be successful without public education and creating awareness about the menace of plastic bags.
“The chief ministers of the four provinces have vowed to impose a ban on plastic bags in their provinces where the statutory regulatory order (SRO) imposed by the ministry is easily replicable in the provinces. Now, it’s up to them how they will take up this matter,” Zartaj noted.
She added that the public is motivated in the federal capital to quit using plastic bags whereas the inflow of plastic bags from adjoining provinces is hampering the way to ensure complete compliance of the ban.
She mentioned that other than jute or cotton bags, starch bags made from vegetables and fruit peels are environment-friendly and can easily dissolve into air and water with the least impact on the ecology.
