ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to launch a campaign to remove mulberry trees in the federal capital, replacing them with thousands of native plants.

This decision was made in a meeting held at the CDA headquarters, with Chairman CDA Muhammad Ali Randhawa in the chair.

The meeting was also attended by environmental expert Rizwan Mahboob, environmental experts from the Baku team, and senior officers from CDA’s Environment Wing.

It is relevant to note that pollen allergy, attributed to mulberry, affects a large number of people in Islamabad, particularly during the spring season, when the concentration of pollen in the air remains high. Pollen is a fine powder produced by trees, grasses, and weeds and is an essential part of the reproductive process of these plants.

Chairman told over 10,000 mulberry trees to be chopped down in Shakarparian; thousands of indigenous trees to be planted

Islamabad has thousands of paper mulberry trees, and there was never any serious attempt made to remove them except for in F-9 Park last year. The civic agency had made several plans to launch an operation but could not translate it into reality.

“Starting operation against the pollen tree is a good initiative, but there is a need to keep an eye on CDA’s environment officials to ensure that only paper mulberry trees are removed and no other tree is chopped down,” suggested an official.

Earlier, the meeting was told that approximately 10,000 paper mulberry plants will be removed from the Shakarparian area, and 50,000 trees will be planted in their place.

Similarly, around 1,000 paper mulberry plants will be removed from the slopes along the drains and roads, and 80,000 local trees will be planted.

It was also reported that in other sectors of Islamabad, a total of 10,000 paper mulberry plants will be removed and replaced with 50,000 new plants.

The meeting also mentioned that this year’s plantation campaign would involve the private and corporate sectors as well.

According to a statement issued after the meeting, Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa stated that no effort would be spared in the removal of paper mulberry trees from Islamabad.

He said local plants, such as loquat, guava, fig, apricot, peepal, native mulberry, and other types of plants, needed to be planted.

The statement added that over 5,000 small and large mulberry trees were removed from F-9 last year and “around 10,000 new trees were planted”.

The meeting was informed that approximately 30,000 ‘environment-friendly plants’ will be planted during the spring season.

Chairman Randhawa directed that the remaining paper mulberry trees be removed on a priority basis to address the pollen allergy.

He also instructed that a list of plants and trees suitable for the local climate be displayed on the CDA website to raise public awareness.

He also directed that during this spring, the removal of paper mulberry trees should be ensured, and fruit-bearing, shade-providing, and flowering trees should be planted.

He also stressed that students, teachers, and staff from both private and public educational institutions should be included to make the plantation campaign a success.

Mr Randhawa stated that for plantation in the Margalla Hills, spraying and seed dropping should be done via helicopter.

He also instructed that private housing societies be directed to promote the plantation campaign. Additionally, he suggested that plant stalls be set up at the low-price markets established under the Ramazan Relief Package.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2025