KARACHI: Environment deptt seeks powers to impose fine
KARACHI, Sept 4: The Sindh environment department is submitting a summary to the chief minister recommending measures against cutting of trees and entrusting the environment department with the powers to impose fines in such cases.
This was stated by Sindh Adviser on Environment and Alternate Energy, Noman Saigol, while planting a tree at the lawn of the environment department in connection with the tree plantation campaign.
He said that a good number of trees were chopped down on the pretext of development work and as a result their number was declining day by day leading to the increase in pollution.
Mr Saigol pointed out that major countries had increased their budget for environment up gradation and had been able to control environmental hazards, but here proper attention was not being paid and despite the fact that law existed for imposing fine on cutting of a tree, still this practice was going on and there was no one to question the culprits.
The adviser said as a result of this the environment in Sindh and especially in Karachi had become dangerously polluted and it was becoming difficult for people to breath on roads and in the industrial areas.
Modern research, he said, had showed that one tree supplied oxygen for 40 persons and world over 50 per cent medicines were produced with the use of raw material obtained from trees.
If each person plant one tree, it can bring green revolution in the entire country and in this province, Mr Saigol emphasized.—APP
