Timber worth Rs1.22bn at risk of decay due to KP govt’s negligence

PESHAWAR: Due to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government Department of Climate Change, Forest, and Environment’s lack of interest and poor planning, approximately 661,500 cubic feet of felled timber worth Rs1.22 billion lying on roadsides and in forests, is at risk of decay.

The provincial cabinet has rejected the recent strategy presented by the KP Department of Climate Change, Forest, and Environment and directed it to formulate a comprehensive and practical new policy for the disposal of the timber at the earliest.

According to official cabinet documents available with HUM News English, under the now-inactive 2003 “Dry Standing and Wind-Fallen Trees Policy”, around 6.74 million cubic feet of timber had previously been felled and stored from forests in Malakand and Hazara regions.

The KP Climate Change, Forest, and Environment secretary told the provincial cabinet recently that between 2016 and 2020, the verification and auction process of the timber was actively monitored.

During this period, 5.77 million cubic feet of timber were verified, of which 5.41 million cubic feet were transported to timber markets and auctioned, generating revenue of Rs5.51 billion for the provincial treasury.

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The secretary further explained the delay in verifying and auctioning the remaining timber, citing several challenges such as transportation difficulties during the winter, fencing work in border areas of Chitral, cross-border firing incidents, and ownership disputes over forestlands.

According to the Forest Planning and Monitoring Circle (FP\&MC), approximately 661,500 cubic feet of timber is currently lying in various forest depots in Havelian, Chakdara, and along roadside locations.

The KP forest department has proposed a one-time approval for the sale of this timber, worth around Rs1.22 billion.

At the meeting, officials from the law department clarified that the original 2003 policy cannot be extended any further and that a new policy is necessary to resolve the issue. The finance department also endorsed the recommendation.

After deliberations, the provincial cabinet instructed the forest department to urgently prepare a comprehensive and actionable new policy to address the matter of the unsold timber.

Repeated attempts were made to contact KP’s Special Assistant on Climate Change and Forests, Peer Masroor Shah, and Secretary Shahid Zaman for comment, but they could not be reached.