Salaries Halted for Hundreds of Green Pakistan Program Employees Amid Uncertainty
The Green Pakistan initiative originally concluded on June 30, 2023, but was extended by one year by the federal government.
Lahore: The salaries of hundreds of employees working under the Green Pakistan Program’s Forestry and Wildlife departments have been suspended.
With the program’s tenure ending on June 30, 2024, fears have risen about its potential discontinuation. The federal government has yet to make a decision regarding the program’s extension, leading to job losses for many employees in the Forestry and Wildlife departments.
The Green Pakistan Upscaling Program is a federal initiative managed by the Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with provincial forestry and wildlife departments. The 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Program is also a part of this initiative. Funding for the project is split evenly between the federal and provincial governments.
The program aims to protect and expand forests and wildlife in the country, with various projects initiated by provincial departments. To support these projects, the Forestry and Punjab Wildlife departments hired employees on a contract basis.
The Green Pakistan initiative originally concluded on June 30, 2023, but was extended by one year by the federal government. Now, with the program’s tenure ending again on June 30, 2024, there has been no notification of further extension.
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Mudassar Hasan, Director of the Punjab Wildlife Green Pakistan Program, has written to all district deputy directors, instructing them to inform employees that the program’s extension is still undecided, making it impossible to issue salaries for July 2024.
He further mentioned that 269 employees are currently working under the Green Pakistan Program in Punjab Wildlife. Proposals to extend the program until 2028 have been sent to the Federal Planning Commission, but no response has been received yet. Hasan emphasized that continuing the program depends on the decision of the Federal Planning Commission.
