Sow a seed to reap benefits. True to that, now planting saplings will get you arms licence in Punjab, which otherwise is a tedious process.
If you want to get arms licence in Punjab, you will have to plant 10 saplings, click selfies and submit it before the authorities. This 'guns for plants.' initiative was added as a new condition to get an arms licences in Punjab's Ferozepur
Ferozepur District Commissioner Chander Gaind issued an order stating that "anyone seeking a new arms licence will have to plant 10 saplings, get selfies clicked and submit with a file. Fresh selfies after a month will also have to be submitted. This is our little effort to increase green cover in the area as people in Punjab are crazy about seeking arms license, so let them go crazy for plantation as well.”
However, a simple plantation will not guarantee the licence but it will only be an aspect for the application to be 'considered.'
The district has received 23 applications so far under the new scheme of which three has been cleared, ten is under process and 13 have been sent for police verification, according to the Indian Express.
The noble initiative also received praise from NITI Aayog. “I visited Ferozepur to look at the work as per the aspirational districts program. As I came across this novel idea, I planned to see this effort as well,” the think tank panel's officer Aalok Dubey told IE.
With this single move, now the state government can hopefully keep a check on the number of gun holders as well as the state's green cover.