Paper Mulberry Trees To Be Completely Cut By 2020: Senate Told

Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday apprised the Senate that phase wise plan has been prepared to eradicate paper mulberry trees by replacing with other species from Islamabad till December 2020

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jan, 2018 ) :Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday apprised the Senate that phase wise plan has been prepared to eradicate paper mulberry trees by replacing with other species from Islamabad till December 2020.

Responding to various questions during the Question Hour, the minister said that recently survey was conducted to collect data of plants and trees which caused allergy. It was found that there were 1272 Paper Mulberry plants which were causing allergy in the federal capital, he said.

He said under phase-1, paper mulberry along Nullahs, streams and educational institutions were removed till December 2017. Under Phase-II, the minister all paper mulberry trees in residential areas would be eradicated by December 2018.

Similarly, in Phase-III, all such trees along Islamabad highway and surrounding of Shakarparian would be removed during January 2019 to December 2019, he said. He said all paper mulberry trees would be cut from Margallah Hills National Park from January 2020 to December 2020 under the last phase.

To a supplementary question, Ahsan Iqbal said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has taken formal permission from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before cutting 240 trees along Embassy Road.

He said these trees were removed for the road expansion. He said there were no such rule as per Cooperative Societies Act, 1925 and Cooperative Societies Rules, 1927 which make it mandatory for these housing societies to plant sufficient number of threes within their respective limits.

However, he said efforts were made from time to time to plant more and more trees along roads sides and residential areas besides green belts to cope with Climate Change effects. To another question regarding vacant posts in attached departments of the interior ministry, the minister said he had inherited these posts and directives had already been issued to fill all these posts through transparent manner.

The concerned departments had also stated process to fill these posts purely on merit base, he said To a separate query, Ahsan Iqbal said the Federal Employees Cooperative Housing Society has handed over possession of 76 semi-developed plots to the employees of National Assembly Secretariat.

The development work has haulted due to the expiry of term of the Federal Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Islamabad on June 29, 2017, he said. He said the election schedule was announced to hold elections of the Society on August 31, 2017 but the private parties challenged the elections process in Civil Court Islamabad and Islamabad High Court Islamabad vide Writ Petition No.

2867/2017, Writ Petition No. 3021/2017 & CM No. 3859/2017 in Writ Petition No. 2920 and the election process was stopped. The remaining development work of these plots would be completed within a period of three months immediately after holding elections of the Society and taking over charge by the newly elected Managing Committee of the Society, he said.