36,000 green trees chopped to make way for power lines
CHITRAL: Over 3,600 green trees, including walnut and peach, have been chopped in the Broz village of Chitral for laying the transmission lines of Golen powerhouse in complete disregard to its impact on the environment.
Talking to this correspondent, residents of Broz, including Nusrat Azad, Suhrab Khan and Eng. Fakhre Azam, said the high voltage transmission lines would pass over the residential houses for which the greenery is being removed. They said agricultural land and houses of three families were badly affected by the lines. They said they had also moved a local court which gave a verdict in their favour but the court order was not being implemented by the WAPDA and district administration.
They alleged that the survey team in order to benefit the contractor had deliberately chosen the path of the transmission lines over private properties even though it could have been laid over barren land such as along the riverbed.
Officials concerned of the forest and other departments, when contacted by this reporter, only only expressed regrets and said under government rules even a single private tree cannot be felled without taking permission from the department concerned and giving a valid justification.–GH Farooqui