The construction company working on the Red Line project says it will plant 50,000 trees in the city to improve the environment.
Trans Karachi, a public sector company set up by the Sindh government to implement the Karachi BRT Red Line project, says that 5 trees will be planted in place of each tree cut down for the project.
The new trees will include coconut, palm, neem and papaya which are known to provide shade, fruit and oxygen throughout the year.
Project Manager Zulfiqar says that the company will take care of these trees for 5 years and during that time if any plant goes bad, another will take its place.
According to the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency report, the construction of a 26 km long track of the Red Line will affect 23,700 trees.
Company Trans Karachi also claimed in its statement that 8,500 trees coming under the project would be relocated.
Experts say that moving trees from one place to another is a costly process so it is rarely done.
On the other hand, sources from the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency said that the agreement does not state that the trees will be relocated and not cut.
