Three KWSB officials face action for felling trees

City Nazim Mustafa Kamal ordered the registration of criminal cases as well as departmental action on Tuesday against three Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) officials. The action was taken after Kamal took notice of the unauthorized cutting of trees and digging up of newly-constructed roads by KWSB officials.

City District Government Karachi (CDGK) sources said that officials at City Command and Control Centre (C&CC) detected some people digging in a green belt on Rashid Minhas Road near the UBL Sports Complex and cutting trees without seeking permission from the CDGK Parks and Horticulture Department.

City Wardens and parks department officials were informed.

They reached the spot and ordered an immediate halt to the work. Two employees of a contracting firm involved in the work were also arrested by the City Wardens. After learning of the incident, the city Nazim inspected the spot through the C&CC facility and directed the registration of an FIR against the culprits. It was learnt that the digging was being carried out on behalf of the KWSB and three of its officials (Chief Engineer Mashkoor-ul-Hasan, Project Director Hasan Aijaz Kazmi, and XEN Shafqat Manghan) were responsible for the irregularity.

The City Nazim also ordered departmental action and action against the contracting firm, NPI.

The Nazim said that the KWSB officials had indulged in criminal negligence while carrying out the development activity because they should have informed the Parks and Horticulture Department before carrying out the work. “Had they informed the Parks Department, trees which were uprooted and cut by them could have been saved and re-planted but they destroyed 100 precious trees, which is an unforgivable crime,” Kamal maintained.

He said that the CDGK had launched a campaign for planting trees in the city and at a time when resources were spent on making the city green, some officials were cutting them, which was intolerable.

The Nazim said clear directives had already been given to all civic agencies to seek permission from the Parks Department prior to cutting trees in the city.