Chief Secretary Punjab Yousaf Naseem Khokhar launched monsoon tree plantation campaign by planting a sapling on the premises of Civil Secretariat in Lahore on Tuesday.

The Punjab government has been set a target to plant nine million saplings during the ongoing drive.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Secretary said that the campaign should be made successful by exceeding the fixed target.

He said that protection of environment is a national cause and tree plantation is imperative to control the growing pollution and the government is paying special attention to this issue.

He said that that providing clean environment to people is a priority of the government and practical steps are being taken for this purpose.

He directed the relevant provincial departments to keep close coordination with institutes and play their due role in making the tree plantation a success. The Chief Secretary urged people to actively participate in the drive to make it a success.

Yousaf Naseem Khokhar also underlined the need for launching a community mobilization and awareness campaign regarding benefits of trees. He directed that after plantation effective arrangements should also be ensured for protection of a sapling so that it could reach its full stature.

The Secretary Forest Department briefed that all arrangements are in place to successfully run the campaign. Forest department has 31 million saplings in stocks and 363 sale points have been established for the ongoing drive, he added.

He informed that 15 million saplings were planted against a target of 12 million during the spring plantation and rate of success remained 128 percent.