‘Illegal’ chopping: CDA to conduct fresh probe

US Embassy cut 34 trees in the Diplomatic Enclave in 2010 after ‘permission’ .

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has formed a new committee to probe the cutting of over two dozen costly and mature trees in the Diplomatic Enclave in Sector G-5.

The issue of cutting 34 Shisham trees without fulfilling codal formalities while developing a new car park adjacent to the under-construction US Embassy complex in the Diplomatic Enclave surfaced back in 2010.

The embassy, in 2010, had sought permission for a temporary parking near the embassy, where 34 fully-grown Shisham trees stood.

According to preliminary findings, available with The Express Tribune, then CDA Member Environment Mian Abdul Waheed granted approval with a condition that the trees would not be axed in the development of the parking lot.

But then CDA Deputy DG Environment Iftikhar Awan, allegedly exceeding his official power, issued a written approval to remove the trees. Awan was not authorised to accord such approval, the inquiry found. And then the trees came crumbling down.

When informed, CDA environment wing officials visited the site and prepared a damage report. They said the approval and the subsequent removal of trees was illegal and liable to departmental action.

The legal way

As per defined procedure, the office of the CDA member environment is the competent authority to grant permission to cut trees. It is done after a proper assessment of the trees and the situation.

From the respective forester to the environment DG, five officers give their recommendation to the report after personally visiting the site. After having favourable recommendations from all forums, a no-objection certificate (NOC) is issued clearly mentioning that these trees would be auctioned at the site. But in this case no such procedure was adopted and yet the NOC was issued.

When the probe was launched in 2010, junior CDA officials presented to the inquiry committee a written approval from the office of the deputy DG environment instead of an NOC from the office of CDA member environment.

The previous inquiry, which has not been finalised to date, found the deputy director (protection), deputy director environment and a forester involved in the illegal cutting of trees, whose value has been worked out at Rs1 million by the environment wing.

Since the inquiry was inconclusive, CDA Chairman Maroof Afzal on Thursday dissolved the previous committee and appointed DG Water Management Shahid Mahmood as the new inquiry officer.

Awan refutes allegations

Iftikhar Awan, however, has denied that he issued any approval to cut down the trees. He said some officers in the CDA were trying to drag him into the case.

He said he had recently moved court against the appointment of a senior official at environment wing in violation of the seniority list and that is why he is being incriminated on these ‘bogus’ charges.

“The area from where the trees were chopped does not fall under my administrative control,” Awan told The Express Tribune.

He questioned why the CDA did not take any action when hundreds of trees were chopped during the construction of the metro bus project in Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2014.