HYDERABAD: Chaos rules the provincial forest department for about a month as those at the helm of affairs are churning out orders for postings and transfers of officers and then withdrawing most of them for politically-cum-financially motivated reasons although Sindh High Court’s Sukkur bench had categorically ordered the department not to indulge in such practice during the drive for retrieval of forestland from illegal occupants and encroachers.

Sources say the desperate attempts to get ‘favourite’ officers transferred and posted in particular areas are made apparently to circumvent the court’s orders, prolong illegal occupation of fertile forestland in the riverine (katcha) area and defeat judicial process aimed at retrieving the lands.

Influential persons encroach upon the state-owned lands in collusion with forest officers and thus both make windfall profits, say the sources.

The department had started slowing down the ongoing operation since change of minister. “The operation is seemingly being reversed. People are allowed to cultivate crops on vacated land,” confided an officer.

“Recently, the Sindh government again transferred chief conservator of forests only a day after his posting for inexplicable reasons while it was said the posting had to be reversed as the decision did not have blessings of top political leadership,” said official sources.

When five divisional forest officers (DFOs) have been waiting postings since September, their colleagues have surprisingly been allowed by secretary of forests Dr Jamil Mendhro to hold dual charges. “I remember incumbent minister vowing at a briefing about occupation of forestland that he will ensure ‘zero’ occupation of forestland when 34,000 acres or so were under occupation but now the department is doing otherwise”, another official said.

“It is time PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari puts things on right track as he had underscored the need for growing forests to earn carbon credits when he chaired a ceremony of planting 100,000 saplings on irrigated forestland in Kathri forests, Hyderabad, on March 15,” he remarked.

The secretary had transferred five DFOs despite SHC’s restraining orders passed in a case of forestland retrieval. He claimed that the DFOs would get a show-cause notice for failing to implement the court’s orders.

One of the DFOs confirmed that no show-cause notice had been issued to him since his transfer on Sept 9. “No show-cause notice has been issued to them as claimed by the secretary, who had made the statement just to defend himself before the court,” said a forest officer.

Four DFOs held dual charge, claimed a source. Sukkur DFO covered a large area but “he holds two additional charges, one is DFO of Guddu barrage [in the extreme north of Sindh) and the other of DFO Thatta (in the extreme south of Sindh). Sukkur DFO covers Sukkur, Shikarpur, Ghotki and Khairpur districts,” said an officer.

No one had been posted as Larkana DFO while Jamshoro DFO had been posted as Shaheed Benazirabad DFO and the former’s position remained vacant but “the officer is ‘unofficially’ handling affairs of Jamshoro,” said the source.

Likewise, Tando Mohammad Khan DFO was posted in Matiari and the DFO post in T.M. Khan remained vacant whereas the officer, Sanaullah Buledi, who had held this additional charge, was relieved on Oct 21, said sources.

Sindh chief secretary had on Sept 16 issued orders for transfers and postings of Mohammad Saleem Vistro and Iftikhar Ahmed Arain. “But the orders were withdrawn on Oct 11 after the CS was told by a court official that it would be deemed as contempt due to [court’s] restraining orders,” said a source.

The CS withdrew the orders immediately to avoid violation of the court’s order. “But the secretary of forests keeps transferring and posting officers and granting additional charges without fear of action by court,” he said.

SHC Sukkur bench had ruled on April 14 that no officer would be transferred till the operation for retrieval of forestland continued. It restrained the CS and secretary of forests and wildlife from transferring “any” conservator, divisional forest officer, district forest officer and forest officer all over Sindh till the completion of ongoing operation.

The transfers and postings are mostly got done by influential politicians, serving or retired law enforcers, bureaucrats, big landowners and lawmakers to protect their interests. These bigwigs are poised to get the 2019 forest policy, which has been stayed by SHC, enforced so that they could use forestland as they wish.

Supreme Court and Sindh High Court Sukkur bench disapproved use of forestland for agricultural purposes, observing that farming was not allowed under the Forest Act 1927 and that was why SHC Sukkur bench stayed the “Sindh Sustainable Forest Management Policy 2019” on April 18. This policy was okayed by Sindh cabinet in November 2019 but it has been held in abeyance now.

“Under the 2005 forest policy, forestland was parceled out among political and influential persons,” said advocate Ali Ather Kazi, who was the intervener in the forestland case.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2021