Combatting deforestation: ‘Joint forest committees to plant seven million trees in K-P’

Parliamentary secretary vows to keep a strict eye on the timber mafia.

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Parliamentary Secretary for Environment Fazle Elahi said on Monday Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMC) have been formed at district levels to bring the maximum area under forest cover and to keep an eye on the timber mafia.

Addressing a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club along with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) provincial president Azam Swati to welcome newcomers to the party’s fold, Elahi said JFMCs will comprise people from all walks of life. He said these committees will include civil servants, members of civil society organisations, teachers and students who will plant seven million trees around the province during the current season.

“This will also help keep an eye on the timber mafia,” said the parliamentary secretary. “It is due to the negligence of previous governments that the province is facing problems of deforestation. Otherwise, the province is self-sufficient.”

Talking about the recent changes in the cabinet, PTI provincial president Azam Swati clarified there was no rift within the party. “It was the decision of the party chief Imran Khan for the sake of enhancing efficiency,” he stressed.

Swati said K-P will soon hold local government elections and the polls would be held via the biometric system to eliminate the possibility of rigging. He said, however, it would take some time to implement the decision. “The K-P government will contact the Supreme Court to seek more time to prepare for the polls.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2014.