CDA launches ‘Green and Clean Islamabad’ project

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Fazal Sher
ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has started a three-year project ‘Green and Clean Islamabad’ to raise environmental issues awareness among general public.

The project, which will continue till 2011, is aimed at creating awareness among general public and students on environmental issues of Islamabad. Another objective of the project is to dispel the impression that CDA has chopped thousands of trees in the last four years to execute various developmental projects, a senior official told Daily Times.

He said in the first phase CDA with the coordination of other partners has displayed 3,000 banners and streamers in various parts of the federal capital. He said the banners carried messages including “Go Green”, “Plant tree–Clean Air–Better Life”, “He who plants a tree, plants a hope”, “Plant more trees as they are Drop of Life” and “Forest for Water, Water for Life”.

Under the project, different events and caravans regarding environmental improvement will be arranged, said the official.

Tree plantation to be doubled: He said the project also included a plan to double the tree plantation in the city and conduct beautiful landscaping of different open places. The CDA during every spring tree plantation campaign plants 0.3 million saplings and now it would plant 0.6 million saplings, he said, adding, earlier plantation was carried out along different roads but its scope will be expanded.

Tree Plantation Week: He said during the Tree Plantation Week from August 11-18 various activities will be arranged. General public, students, housewives, traders, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries and representatives of non-governmental organisations will take part in the tree plantation, he added.

The official said a comprehensive plan had been prepared to plant trees in Simly Dam catchment area, Margalla Hills National Park and Saidpur Village. The CDA will make residential areas’ landscaping part of its building by-laws, he said. “Landscaping will be part of residential house subject to size of the plot, which will be incorporated in residential building by-laws”, he said.

Memorial tree: He said CDA would allocate two to three sites in Islamabad in the existing parks for those who were interested in planting a memorial tree as a sign of some special event of their life, such as in memory of their parents, or some newborn or on wedding occasion or anniversary. Each memorial tree will be assigned a number and option of planting two to three types of trees will be given to the interested people, he said.

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