Punjab Cabinet decides to develop reserve forest at Salt Range National Park

LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired the 31st meeting of the provincial cabinet at a local hotel on Thursday.

The meeting decided to develop the Sambli (North) Reserve Forest as the Salt Range National Park on an area of 13,700 acres and also approved a notification. Cutting of trees and hunting would be banned and the land would not be utilized for any other purpose in the park. The chief minister also directed to constitute a management committee to oversee park affairs. The cabinet approved the appointment of Maj. (R) Azam Suleman as the provincial ombudsman and decided to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan to formulate interim policy 2020-21. The committee will submit its policy recommendations for releasing wheat to flour mills. Meanwhile, approval of amendments to the Cooperative Societies Act, 1925 and the Punjab Undesirable Cooperative Societies Dissolution Act, 1993, was also granted.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar appreciated the performance of Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan as well as the food department for procuring record wheat during the current season as bumper wheat stocks have been purchased for the first time after a gap of ten years.

Now, the Punjab government has ample wheat reserves and full attention will be paid to providing relief to the common man while formulating wheat release policy, he added. Usman Buzdar maintained the government was creating ease for people and welfare of poor families would be fully taken care of while formulating the policy about the release of wheat to flour mills. He also directed the ministers to proactively attend the budget session.