by Imran Chaudhary
( Chjournalist5@gmail.com )
Fourteen hundred years ago, the Prophet Muhammad said that
“If a Muslim plants a fruit tree and then people and animals eat from it, it becomes a charity for the one who planted it, (Sahih Bukhari (6012) Volume No. 5) Today, the process of ruthless cutting of trees is ongoing. We, at the government and public levels, individually and collectively, are responsible for the immense losses caused by the ruthless cutting of trees, not planting trees, and forest fires in places.
Recently, the way trees were cut in Islamabad with the alleged connivance of CDA Environment Directorate officers and former chairman is worrying.
We have witnessed illegal constructions in dozens of housing societies being built towards the New Islamabad Airport and in Islamabad Lahtrar Road Zone 4, illegal constructions in housing societies, and natural disasters in housing societies.
The rampant cutting of trees on pastures, meadows, and lands around natural rivers and canals, and illegal constructions on housing societies, where new trees were not even planted in place of the cutting of trees, in these low-lying areas of Islamabad, the houses built in these places were severely damaged by floodwaters during the recent heavy rains, we have presented the facts to the authorities on these illegal housing societies, on which no steps have been taken by the relevant departments and society owners to plant new trees in return.
We have revealed the ruthless cutting of trees in various forests in all four provinces including Azad Kashmir, the names of the officials and senior officers of the Forest Department, the Department of Environmental Protection, and their negligence, carelessness, corruption, and alleged collusion with the timber mafia in detailed investigative columns, from the Chhanga Manga forest to the alleged collusion of the officers of the Forest Department with the timber mafia in many large forests and for years Questions were raised on the deployment of forest officers and other officers at one place, the insensitivity of these officials and alleged collusion with the timber mafia, negligence, and corruption were written in detail on these same pages.
The officials of the Forest Department and the Environmental Protection Department, the Environment Ministry are continuously sleeping in a state of negligence. The Margalla Hills and the outskirts of Islamabad city, including Kotli Satian and Murree, caught fire.
How were forests targeted? No adequate steps have been taken to address these incidents. We criticized the plight of the forests of Changa Manga to the large forests of Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab, and the deployment of forest department officers at one place for years, and determined the names of those responsible.
The situation of the forest department in the country was presented before the authorities.”On which the relevant authorities have taken action and paid attention to the improvement of the situation, the situation is still the same, the cutting of forests and the responsible officers of the department have been determined across the country.
Serious, dutiful and honest officers of the relevant departments want to take action in this regard, if they want to work, the records can be presented to them. They will continue to be destroyed, housing societies, timber mafia, land mafia will gradually swallow the trees, these trees will be wiped out like what happened in the suburbs of Islamabad, the damages of not having trees in the city of Karachi are in front of everyone, but now most of the cities of the country This is the condition of the towns and villages, we are all under the severe effects of climate change due to this criminal silence and negligence.
There is a need, there is an example of many developed countries in front of us. In countries like Belgium, Norway, the weather became very hot, so they ordered every citizen to plant trees at the official level. If they are invested, billions of rupees are generated annually, if they are exported, billions of dollars are made, which can end poverty, unemployment, hunger and inflation across the country.
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Ancient pine and pine trees were destroyed, in these hilly areas, strong trees like Azad Kashmir were cut and put in the middle. They were thirty, thirty, forty or forty years old.
With the alleged connivance of the forest officials, the timber mafia together cleared these forests, like many forests were cleared in Punjab, complaints of alleged irregularities have come to light in Khyber, Bannu and DI Khan Forest Divisions, demanded a high-level investigation and special audit. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the citizens of some areas are continuously expressing concerns regarding the protection of forests, alleged theft of wood, long appointments of officers, field supervision and performance of official duties.
The complaints regarding some officers posted in Khyber, Bannu and DI Khan Forest Divisions have raised questions not only on the performance of the forest department but also on the monitoring system of the provincial government. And the forest department may fall on the reputation of both.
The demand on the part of the citizens is gaining momentum that instead of burying the complaints in the files as a mere request, a high-level and impartial inquiry should be conducted so that the facts can come out. In Khyber Forest Division, concern has been expressed at the local level for the past several months regarding the alleged deforestation and theft of wood.
The citizens are of the view that the field presence of the Forest Department is of fundamental importance for the effective monitoring of vast areas of forests, however, if the monitoring system is weak, there is a risk of benefiting the timber mafia. Another major complaint of the locals is that the Divisional Forest Office is located in Peshawar instead of Khyber.
According to them, due to this administrative situation, citizens of remote areas face difficulties in conveying their complaints and problems to the Forest Department. The citizens demand that such an effective administrative system be formed at the local level that can ensure immediate resolution of field problems and continuous monitoring of forests.
Questions have also been raised by the locals on the posting of some forest officers in the same division for a long time. Some people claim that some officers have been posted in Khyber Forest Division for a long time, while some officers are allegedly successful in getting posted in the same area repeatedly. Long posting in itself is not proof of corruption or negligence of an officer, however, under administrative principles, questions regarding transparency, merit, conflict of interest and effective supervision can definitely arise in the event of continuous posting at the same place for a long time.
That is why citizens say that the record of such cases should be brought out and an impartial review should be conducted. Local citizens have also expressed various reservations regarding Paharpur subdivision of DI Khan Forest Division. According to citizens, the SDFO posted there belongs to the same area and has been posted in the same area for a long time. Some citizens have alleged that the concerned SDFO prefers his personal business matters over responsibilities and does not pay due attention to field duties.
Questions are also being raised regarding the DFO posted in Bannu. Citizens claim that the concerned officer has been continuously absent from the field and office since his appointment, citing the law and order situation. Some citizens also protested in Islamabad regarding the above-mentioned issues and demanded that the complaints raised regarding Khyber, Bannu and DI Khan Forest Divisions be taken seriously.
Citizens say that the best solution for the government in this matter is to form an empowered, impartial and transparent investigation committee that will review all allegations and complaints on record. Citizens have also demanded a special audit of forest matters as well as development and other government funds. According to them, the audit should review development projects, government expenditure, use of vehicles and other resources, seizure of wood, transportation of wood, cases, fines and related financial records.
The most important question in this entire matter is the response of the Forest Department. If the complaints of the citizens are baseless, then the Forest Department should clarify its position and put the facts before the public. If there is any truth in the complaints, immediate action should be taken against the responsible elements. In the case of criminal silence, speculations are strengthened and ultimately both the government and the department have to bear the loss.
It is necessary that the Forest Department immediately give its clear stand on the complaints raised regarding Khyber, Bannu and DI Khan Forest Divisions and state how many complaints have been received so far, what action has been taken on them, how many officers’ field attendance has been reviewed and what practical steps have been taken to stop deforestation and timber theft.
Transparent investigation is the only way through which all parties can get justice. If the allegations are baseless, the investigation will eliminate them, and if evidence of negligence, misuse of authority, absenteeism or financial irregularities of any official comes to light, action can be taken according to the law.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has taken large-scale steps for the protection of forests and environmental improvement. In such a situation, a strong system of internal supervision, field monitoring and accountability of officers of the Forest Department becomes more necessary. Now the ball is in the court of the Forest Department and the provincial government whether it remains silent or sets an example of transparency and accountability by bringing the facts to the public.
Some hills on the outskirts of Peshawar were mostly dry and barren until a few years ago. Today, trees planted on thousands of hectares of land are swaying here. These trees were planted in about 2014 and again in 2022. This is part of Pakistan’s Billion Tree Tsunami Project.
This project was officially completed in 2022, under which one and a half billion trees were planted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Although there was a lot of corruption in the Billion Tree Project, which is still a matter worth considering and needs to be resolved. Action should be taken against the officers involved in the corruption in this project.
