News Desk |
Authorities have recovered more than 1500 acres of forest land of the Margalla Hills from encroachments and handed it over to the forest department for afforestation.
Quoting the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration officials, an English daily reported that two of the eight blocks the Margalla Hills are divided into are still being demarcated by the Survey of Pakistan team.
A meeting held to review work on retrieval of forest land from encroachment and land grabbers on Monday was informed that Margalla Block 1 and 6 have been completely demarcated and cleared from encroachment. The operation to retrieve the forest land is being jointly executed by ICT, Rawalpindi forest department, and other government bodies.
It is pertinent to note here that the authorities have recovered thousands of acres of state land from encroachments and land grabbers in the capital in the past few months.
Officials said a total of 897 acres of land in the two blocks was under illegal occupation. Apart from this, the officials said 406 acres in Maira Block 2 have also been cleared and efforts are underway to clear land in Maira Block 1 as well.
In addition to this, 161 acres in Block Tumair 3 and 50 acres in Block Tumair 1 have also been recovered and blocks Tumair 2 and 4 have also been cleared. The retrieved land has been handed over to the Punjab Forest Department for afforestation.
ICT officials said it was decided that a strategy for keeping the area protected from encroachments will be formulated and afforestation plans will be made for retrieved and demarcated land.
Read more: Margalla Hills engulfed in fire and illegal encroachment
The retrieved land had been under the illegal occupation of local villagers who used it for chopping off trees and hunting. It is pertinent to note here that the authorities have recovered thousands of acres of state land from encroachments and land grabbers in the capital in the past few months.