PESHAWAR: Around 57 officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Climate Change, Forest and Environment Department are facing charge-sheets for their alleged connivance in large-scale tree cutting by the timber mafia in Hazara and Malakand divisions.
The timber mafia has allegedly felled 8.296 million cubic feet of forests worth billions of rupees, with the involvement of forest officials.
According to sources, those facing action include six divisional forest officers, seven sub-divisional forest officers, and four range forest officers. The 57 officers and officials will soon be served with charge-sheets before a formal inquiry begins, the sources added.
A report of the Forestry Planning and Monitoring Circle (FP&MC) presented to the provincial cabinet said that after the cabinet’s approval on November 6, 2024, divisional and monitoring officers visited the field to verify the extent of forest cutting. Inspections of 370 cases revealed irregularities in 30 per cent, while 45.6 per cent showed minor discrepancies and 24.6 per cent medium-level irregularities.
Extensive deforestation uncovered in Hazara, Malakand divisions
The report said no irregularities were found in 4.390 million cubic feet of felled timber, which was cleared for transportation. Another 1.545 million cubic feet with minor discrepancies was allowed after rectification. However, 2.361 million cubic feet linked to major irregularities was confiscated, and legal proceedings have been initiated.
Sources said that in Chitral’s Arandu area, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, around 10.5 million cubic feet of timber was illegally cut between 2004 and 2015. Of this, 4.5 million cubic feet was smuggled under the label of “Afghan timber”, while the remaining six million cubic feet, worth Rs8 billion, is still lying in the area.
The provincial cabinet has formed a committee to prepare a policy regarding this timber.
Earlier, the KP forest department revoked all orders issued during the caretaker government to open Guzara forests (protected wastelands) in Hazara Division for commercial purposes, including tree cutting, mining, and real estate development.
The forests span nearly 550,000 acres, including the 23,000-acre Makhniyal forest in Haripur near Islamabad, which forms part of the Margalla Hills ecosystem.