KARACHI:
Before any development project is undertaken in the city, at least 15 per cent of its budget should be spent on greenery for the project, says Karachi’s Municipal Commissioner Matanat Ali Khan.
During a meeting on Saturday, Khan announced that 25,000 trees and plants will be purchased from the Sindh forest department to be planted in different parts of the city to usher in the spring season. The trees will be planted throughout areas that fall in KMC jurisdiction and the district municipal committee jurisdiction.
This will include Shahrah-e-Pakistan from Teen Hatti towards the Liaqatabad flyover as well as along two major roads in Korangi. Three roads in New Karachi and three loops of the flyover near Safari Park will be sites for the plantation campaign as well.
The KMC says that it has spent just over one million rupees, a marginal amount, over the last few years in similar campaigns. It has invited members of the Sindh Assembly and other politicians to take part in the campaign. Aside from the commissioner’s advice on making greenery mandatory for any project’s budget, there seems to be other no efforts to make this spring-time campaign a permanent feature of Karachi’s oxygen-starved cityscape.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2012.
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Bravo to Mr. Matanat Ali khan for the good thought and services, Karachi needs atleast 10 % of the total area with greenery especially the city centre where you hardly find any greenery like saddar area, lines area, i.i.chundrigar road, m a jinnah road, golimaar, garden, lyari, the area around kemari, and heavily populated areas like liaquatabad, new karachi, korangi, landhi and orangi town/banarad area.