KARACHI: The National Highway Authority (NHA) and another organisation have allegedly chopped down 5,820 trees along the Super Highway to construct the M-9 section of motorway between Karachi and Hyderabad.
National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) President Muhammad Naeem Qureshi alleged on Sunday that the unscrupulous act of NHA and another organisation indicated that environment of the area around Super Highway was not taken into account before the construction.
Qureshi said that police stations in Gadap and Malir areas were not ready to lodge any First Information Report (FIR) of the cutting down of thousands of trees despite complaints sent by the Sindh Forest Department field officials.
The NFEH president said that in the previous year too, some 1,440 Neem and other fully grown trees had been hacked near Super Highway to expand the area for an annual market of sacrificial animals. The district administration and officials of Cantonment Board Malir at that time also didn’t take any action.
In this recent instance, the trees, which were chopped down had been planted some ten years back by the Forest Department in the area along Super Highway from Wadi-a-Hussain Graveyard to Karachi Toll Plaza.
The trees were cut down by contractors constructing the M-9 Super Highway despite protest by area people and the Forest Department officials.
Qureshi said that cutting of trees without any prior intimation or making alternative arrangements was considered as a cognizable offence. But instead, the uprooting of trees for expanding highways and constructing other civic projects has become a norm in Karachi without any action against unscrupulous officials and contractors of such projects.
In last 10 years, Karachi and its surrounding areas have witnessed cutting off some 45,000 trees due to the new development projects.
He said that station house officer of Malir Cantt Police Station instead of lodging an FIR of the fresh instance of cutting down of trees had forwarded the complaint to the Legal Department of police for further advice.
The contractors associated with the government-owned civil works organisations especially those led by military officials should be bound to follow rules of for upkeep of environment and greenery in the area of their respective projects, he added.
Qureshi said that according to the rules, any area where trees were chopped down should see a plantation of tree saplings five times more than the number of uprooted trees.
The NFEH president also appealed to the citizens to take up the issue and hold a protest at every level against cutting of trees as the lessening of greenery has been causing serious environmental and health degradation.
