Forest land: Punjab officials asked to explain encroachment

ISLAMABAD:

The apex court on Wednesday took suo motu notice of allegations regarding encroachment on 2,500 kanals belonging to the forest department in Rawalpindi division.

CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry issued notices to Punjab chief secretary and forest secretary to submit their answers by May 25, after a news item about encroachment of forestland by land grabbers appeared in an Urdu daily a day earlier.

According to the news story, the encroached land is valued at Rs15 billion and some officials of the forest department Rawalpindi have been hand in glove with the encroachers. The 1,200-kanal forestland in Bhara Kahu was occupied last year and now under the caretaker set-up, an additional 1,300 kanals have been encroached upon, claims a news report.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2013.