ISLAMABAD: The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and Capital Development Authority (CDA) kicked off their Spring Tree Plantation Drive 2017 with a colourful ceremony held at the Rose and Jasmine Garden on Thursday.

The mayor of Islamabad and CDA chairman Sheikh Ansar Aziz formally inaugurated the campaign by planting a sapling in the Rose and Jasmine Garden.

The authority will plant over 300,000 saplings of various species throughout the season in spring.

The ceremony was attended by senior MCI and CDA officials, diplomats, students from various educational institutions, environmentalists and representatives of NGOs and government, semi-government and private organisations.

An awareness walk, highlighting the importance of plants and the environments was also held.

Speaking at the ceremony, the mayor said the drive is a part of the Prime Minister`s Green Pakistan Programme. He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is interested in making Islamabad an environmentally-friendly city.

Mr Aziz said the prime focus during the drive will be the growth and survival of the planted saplings, rather than the numbers. He added that union council chairmen have also been enlisted to take care of the saplings in their constituencies in order to ensure the survival of the maximum number of planted saplings.

`Being the signatory of the Islamabad Green Charter it is our collective responsibility to own our environment and take steps for its improvement,` Mr Aziz said.

He was also told by officials from the MCPs environment wing that the corporation has planned to plant 300,00 saplings this year, and key locations include the Islamabad Expressway, the wooded area between H-10 and H-11, playgrounds and parks, the Margalla Hills National Park, the Simly Dam catchment area and the greenbelts on Kashmir Highway.