HYDERABAD, Sept 24: The management of Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) has asked the provincial government to take a stern action against three officials of the Left Bank Canal Area Water Board (LBCAWB) for failing to register FIRs against officials of the department responsible for illegal cutting of trees on banks of some canals and channels of the LBCAWB.

Executive engineer Guni canals division, assistant executive engineer Dubi sub-division and assistant executive engineer Golarchi sub-division are the LBCAWB officials accused of failing to register FIRs, a spokesman for the SIDA said.

The demand for action against three officials was made in response to a report given by the director of the LBCAWB.

He, however, said that two separate FIRs had already been officially registered against illegal cutting of trees standing on Dhadharko minor and Naseer branch in the LBCAWB jurisdiction.

He said it was for the first time that FIRs were registered against officials of the department.

The directives to file FIRs were issued by Abdul Ghafoor Nizamani and Major (retd) Omer Farooq Ahmed, chairman and member of the LBCAWB respectively, who conducted investigation related to the issue to verify reports about illegal felling of trees.

The spokesman said, the act of illegal cutting caused a huge financial loss to the provincial exchequer in addition to endangering the environment and eco-system of the area.

The FIR against cutting of trees in Naseer division has been registered by sub-engineer Akhtar Ali against Darogha Noor Hassan Jarwar and others, while another FIR in Dhdharko minor has been registered by Yawar Hussain Memon, assistant executive engineer, Dubi sub-division.