The present investigation was carried out at Punjab Agricultural University in collaboration with the State Forest and Wildlife Preservation Department at Forest Nursery, Baddowal (Ludhiana). The experiment consisted of four treatments (main plot) of sludge from different sewage treatment sources and a control, along with three forest tree species as sub-plots: Terminalia arjuna (arjun), Eucalyptus tereticornis clone 413 (safeda), and Melia com-posita (dek). Soil application of sludge significantly affected the physiolog-ical, biochemical, and growth characteristics of the tree seedlings. After twelve months, plant height, collar diameter, root length, number of roots, dry root weight, and dry shoot weight were all markedly higher with sludge application, especially using sludge from the Bhattian treatment plant, compared to control soil. Among the species, T. arjuna exhibited superior growth (height, roots, collar diameter, root length) across sludge treatments. Biochemical attributes, including chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chloro-phyll, carotenoids, total soluble sugars, and starch content, were also signif-icantly enhanced by soil amendment with Bhattian sludge after one year. T. arjuna seedlings accumulated the highest levels of chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, sugars, and starch (and nearly the highest chloro-phyll b) irrespective of sludge treatment. Overall, T. arjuna performed best on Bhattian sludge, likely due to the higher nutrient content of that sludge compared to control soil and the other sludge sources (Balloke and Jamal-pur). This study suggests that growing trees in sludge-treated soil is a viable strategy for improving seedling quality on waste-contaminated sites. Fur-thermore, it demonstrates a sustainable approach to municipal waste management by recycling sewage sludge as a soil amendment to irrigate and fertilize forests, amenity trees, and greenbelts.