SC directs provinces to submit report on tree plantation

Expresses annoyance over absence of K-P forest secretary from court’s proceedings

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday summoned all the forest secretaries in person at the next hearing and directed the provinces to submit report on tree plantation projects within a month.

A two-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Ijazul Ahsan summoned the secretaries while hearing a suo motu case about fast depleting forests in the country.

During the course of proceedings, the court expressed annoyance over the absence of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa forest secretary. The chief justice remarked that hotels and rest houses had been built on the Margalla hills in K-P.

Trees have also been cut down in Kumrat, Swat and Nathia Gali and forest department's timber business is running as deliveries are being supplied to homes, he added.

“Trees are being cut down and construction is being carried out in the national park area.”

Justice Ahsan said Margalla Hills were part of National Park and asked how construction could take place there.

K-P forest department officials claimed that the department had planted 190 million trees across the province.

Justice Ahsan remarked that the entire province would be full of greenery if so many trees are planted.

“Where did you get the saplings for 190 million trees?” the judge inquired.The chief justice asked the officials not try to impress the court by showing foreign media reports, saying the whole city of Peshawar was deserted.

Justice Ahsan observed that the court had sought a comprehensive report on the federal government’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami initiative highlighting the exact number of trees as well as the areas where they had been planted.

He said the reason for seeking the record was to ensure that the trees had been planted in real.
Sindh forest secretary appeared before the bench and stated that 570 million trees had been planted in the province.

The chief justice said he did not think the provincial government had spent money on planting trees. If Rs2,323 million had been spent on trees, the whole of Sindh would have been green, he said.
Justice Ahan asked what was the total covered area of forests in Sindh. The secretary replied that Sindh had forests on 2.7 million acres of land.

Addressing the Balochistan forest secretary, the chief justice said that trees were being cut down and burnt in Ziarat adding that there were no trees from Chaman to Quetta.

The court ordered all provincial secretaries of forests to submit report on tree planting projects within a month and adjourned hearing of the case.