Under fire: PTI MPA alleges malpractice in forest dept appointments
House draws attention to hoarding of timber caused by ban on its transport
House draws attention to hoarding of timber caused by ban on its transport. STOCK IMAGE
PESHAWAR:
A lawmaker from the treasury bench cast doubt over recent appointments in the forest department in Nowshera district, saying they were made through a series of malpractices. The issue was raised on Monday after a question asked in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly by Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker from Nowshera.
Idrees rejected the forest department’s written answer concerning the appointments made in January. “According to the department’s reply, only two people have been employed during the month,” he said. “However, in reality at least 33 people have been employed.”
Idrees said about 18 of these employees replaced people who were working on a contractual basis for the last 10 to 12 years,” he said. “The government should not have sacked these officials,” he said. “On the contrary, their jobs should have been regularised.”
He also voiced dissatisfaction over the fact that no one was appointed from his constituency PK-15, Nowshera IV.
However, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Environment Ishtiaq Urmar said the forest department had employed only 30 people who hailed from Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda.
Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser asked both lawmakers to discuss this matter to ensure they are on the same page about the issue, considering both belonged to the same side of the aisle.
Wasting away
The house also drew attention to the challenge posed by the failure to transport harvested timber. It was informed 135 million cubic feet of timber is lying at government depots in various parts of Malakand and Hazara divisions.
JUI-F lawmaker from Torghar Zareen Gul put the figure at 270 million cubic feet. He asked the government to explain its position and highlight what measures have been taken in this regard. In 2013, the provincial government had imposed a ban on the transportation of harvested timber to the market.
“Under the MMA rule in 2003, no such ban existed,” Gul said. “This policy should be introduced once again to prevent the waste of timber.” However, Urmar said a forest management policy was on the cards and would provide a suitable solution in this regard. “The government would address this issue before June,” he said. “It will also conduct a third-party audit to ascertain who was involved in the illegal felling of trees and the culprits will be taken to task.”
According to details provided to the house, 73 million cubic feet of timber is lying in depots in Hazara Division. Of these, 47 million cubic feet is in upper Hazara Division while over 25 million cubic feet is at lower Hazara Division. Around 62 million cubic feet of timber is lying in various depots of Malakand forest region-III. Of these, 28 million cubic feet are in the eastern parts of the region while the rest is lying in the western parts.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2015.
A lawmaker from the treasury bench cast doubt over recent appointments in the forest department in Nowshera district, saying they were made through a series of malpractices. The issue was raised on Monday after a question asked in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly by Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker from Nowshera.
Idrees rejected the forest department’s written answer concerning the appointments made in January. “According to the department’s reply, only two people have been employed during the month,” he said. “However, in reality at least 33 people have been employed.”
Idrees said about 18 of these employees replaced people who were working on a contractual basis for the last 10 to 12 years,” he said. “The government should not have sacked these officials,” he said. “On the contrary, their jobs should have been regularised.”
He also voiced dissatisfaction over the fact that no one was appointed from his constituency PK-15, Nowshera IV.
However, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Environment Ishtiaq Urmar said the forest department had employed only 30 people who hailed from Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda.
Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser asked both lawmakers to discuss this matter to ensure they are on the same page about the issue, considering both belonged to the same side of the aisle.
Wasting away
The house also drew attention to the challenge posed by the failure to transport harvested timber. It was informed 135 million cubic feet of timber is lying at government depots in various parts of Malakand and Hazara divisions.
JUI-F lawmaker from Torghar Zareen Gul put the figure at 270 million cubic feet. He asked the government to explain its position and highlight what measures have been taken in this regard. In 2013, the provincial government had imposed a ban on the transportation of harvested timber to the market.
“Under the MMA rule in 2003, no such ban existed,” Gul said. “This policy should be introduced once again to prevent the waste of timber.” However, Urmar said a forest management policy was on the cards and would provide a suitable solution in this regard. “The government would address this issue before June,” he said. “It will also conduct a third-party audit to ascertain who was involved in the illegal felling of trees and the culprits will be taken to task.”
According to details provided to the house, 73 million cubic feet of timber is lying in depots in Hazara Division. Of these, 47 million cubic feet is in upper Hazara Division while over 25 million cubic feet is at lower Hazara Division. Around 62 million cubic feet of timber is lying in various depots of Malakand forest region-III. Of these, 28 million cubic feet are in the eastern parts of the region while the rest is lying in the western parts.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2015.