Islamabad News

Gilani launches monsoon plantation Monday, July 21, 2008 Islamabad Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday launched the Monsoon Plantation Campaign, with the pledge to dedicate the year 2009, to environment and a greener Pakistan. The prime minister kicked off the monsoon plantation campaign by planting a sapling of Araucaria in the lawns of the Prime Minister House here. Later talking to newsmen, he symbolised the sapling with that of the tree of democracy, which grew in the hands of Benazir Bhutto. He said the forest cover, which is five per cent of the surface area of the country will be increased by another one per cent by 2015. The Ministry of Environment will oversee the current plantation campaign. The prime minister appealed to the nation especially school children to fully participate in the monsoon plantation drive to make it a success. He said the government is taking a variety of steps to keep the environment clean and green and bring down pollution levels. A major project will be launching of environment friendly 8000 CNG buses in major cities. The government is also taking up the idea of energy saver bulbs, which will help conserve energy, Gilani added. The prime minister has instructed the Environment Minister to keep the people informed of the government’s policy measures aimed at protection of environment. The government plans to plant 50 million saplings during the current monsoon campaign, which will be a major drive to protect and enhance the country’s forest cover. Speaking on the occasion Federal Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi said the government would lay down a comprehensive forestation policy with a plan to grow trees on one million hectares of the country’s land by 2015. During the current campaign, he said, about five million saplings will be planted on highways, mountaintops, existing forest land and around schools and private and public buildings. The minister said the government plans to put on roads 8,000 environment friendly CNG buses in major cities over the next five years. This green scheme will cut carbon emissions and control the emitting of sulphur content in the atmosphere, he added. He said the government was fully apprised of the issue of illegal cutting of trees and will formulate a strategy in collaboration with provincial governments to enforce laws, which ban causing of damage to forests. Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Kamran Lashari said CDA will embark on a three-year strategy to maintain Islamabad, as a clean and green city.