PESHAWAR – Taking serious notice of misappropriation in the Forest Department (FD), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to explain their position on March 15, an official source informed Pakistan Today. He said that responding to numerous complaints by locals about the ruthless cutting of green trees in the Malakand and the Lower and Upper Hazara Forest Circles, the NAB has taken notice under the “Dry Standing and Wind Fallen Trees Policy”. The bureau has directed the quarters concerned not to issue work order for timber exploitation prior to the inspection of “Marked Trees” by its team, the source added.
The authorities in the FD KP have also been directed to submit marking lists and details of the ongoing and completed timber exploitation projects prepared by all divisions of the FD under the above-mentioned policy to NAB by March 15, said the source. He added that in order to curtail the malpractices and ensure implementation of the aforementioned policy, it has been decided that in future all harvesting of timber will be monitored by the NAB under its “Dry Standing and Wind Fallen Trees Policy”.
