Advertising frenzy: Despite ‘tied hands’, officials vow to resist cutting trees

Commissioner writes to environment protection agency to devise plan in a week

KARACHI:

The Sindh government has allegedly approved the cutting of nearly 1,400 trees that are part of the forest across Dolmen City in Clifton to earn revenue from outside advertisers, The Express Tribune has learnt.

“The government has granted permission to a well-known advertising company and the trees will be cut at any time,” confirmed a senior official working at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) head office. He added that the KMC has earned Rs6 billion by granting permission to set up billboards around the city.

The deputy commissioner, South, Mustafa Jamal Qazi, told The Express Tribune that their hands are tied. The government must take concrete action to halt this practice not only in this area but across the city, he said, admitting that officials within the KMC, the district municipal corporations and the cantonment boards are involved in procuring permits for outdoor advertisers.

“Whenever we take action against them, they [advertisers] take stay orders and then the district administration cannot do anything,” said Qazi.

According to Qazi, the district administration recently wrote a letter to the local government minister and the KMC administrator in which they pointed out the alarming trend of cutting trees and the unprecedented growth of billboards and hoardings. These billboards are defacing the cityscape, blocking the view of motorists and posing safety hazards for the buildings, he explained, adding that cutting trees will raise questions of environmental sustainability.

SEPA calls meeting

Commissioner Shoaib Siddiqui vowed to enforce discipline if the authorities are involved in removing trees from this piece of land. “Since the province has no environmental law that is specific to tree cutting, a case would be registered against the violators for damaging the property,” he assured.

For his part, Siddiqui called the director-general of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa), Naeem Mughal, and directed him to make an environmental plan within a week. “We will hold a meeting of all stakeholders of the city next week,” said Siddiqui. “The culprits must be put behind bars,” he added for good measure.

Is it legal?

The Sindh Plantation, Maintenance of Trees and Public Park Ordinance 2002, which was issued in November 20, 2002, specifies that no person shall cut any trees growing in any land, without the written permission of the authorised officer. Exceptions can be made where the felling or cutting is in compliance with any obligation imposed by or under any law or is otherwise in the public’s interest.

The ordinance further adds that no person shall remove, cut, damage, or displace any plants, shrub or trees, at any public place, including public parks.

On May 27, 2009, the Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam had also passed an order for the protection of the green environment of the city. No tree shall be cut except trimming, if necessary, without the permission of the court, he had directed.

Environment concerns

On April 17, this year, NGO Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment wrote a letter to the commissioner to protect the trees. The Sindh plantation and maintenance ordinance is a valid legal document, said the NGO’s Dr Raza Gardezi. “The trees in the city are under constant threat from outdoor advertising companies that are operating under the protection of the local government department and in connivance with the police stations,” he claimed. Despite repeated attempts, LG minister Sharjeel Memon was unavailable for comments.

“If you look at the city landscape, it is facing an acute shortage of trees,” Dr Gardezi pointed out. “Old trees have their own special ecosystem and sustain particular species of insects, birds and small animals, green parrots, squirrels, butterflies, which are no longer visible in the urban landscape.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2014.