PHA extends to all 41 Punjab districts

The Punjab Horticulture Authority (PHA) now covers all 41 districts of the province after the government added 20 more district agencies, creating a single structure to manage the province’s green spaces, Director General Ahmad Usman Javaid announced Friday.

Last year, the government established the PHA as an umbrella body for 10 existing independent district agencies and subsequently brought 11 more agencies under its administrative control. On Thursday, the government issued a notification adding another 20 district horticulture agencies, extending the authority’s reach to the entire province.

The newly added districts include Bahawalnagar, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Narowal, Chakwal, Attock, Layyah, Rajanpur, Kasur, Pakpattan, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh, Lodhran, Vehari, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Talagang, Kot Addu, Taunsa and Wazirabad.

To facilitate the transition, the PHA has constituted district-level teams to oversee the transfer of assets and human resources from municipal corporations and local government departments to the authority, Mr Javaid said. Each five-member team is headed by the relevant deputy commissioner and includes the district managing director, among other officials.

Neighbouring older agencies will help the new ones set up offices, he added.

Mr Javaid said the expansion would enable PHA to introduce a coordinated approach to horticulture management across Punjab while strengthening institutional capacity at the district level. The objective was to improve the maintenance of parks and public spaces, expand green cover and ensure consistent standards of landscaping, he added.

He said the department was also working towards developing city-specific horticulture plans, taking into account local climate, soil conditions, water availability and urban infrastructure. The broader strategy included establishing nurseries in individual districts to provide affordable plants to the public, alongside performance-based monitoring of district agencies.