The forest department had given a contract of cutting of some trees hindering the construction of a new drainage project near the general bus stand. The drain will be constructed from the GBS to the Kathala underpass. Instead of cutting trees near the bus stand, however, the workers started uprooting Shisham and other green trees on both sides of the GT Road near the underpass.
Sources said the ‘timber mafia’ cut more than 1,000 trees worth millions of rupees from the Kathala underpass to a known carpet industry. Subsequently, the Saddar police had conducted a raid on the call of Timber Merchant Association President Saleem Kamboh and arrested 27 men, including labourers, who were chopping off the trees near Kathala the other day.
The police also recovered 75 trees laden in two vehicles and instruments used for cutting. Sources quoted the labourers as informing the police that District Forest Officer Muhammad Nawaz Sandhiala had directed them to chop off the trees. The police took the labourers and the vehicles to the police station.
Meanwhile, the timber association president filed a complaint the same day against the contractor and the DFO against whom he sought a case to be registered. The police, however, succumbed to the pressure of a top politician and did not register a case. Sources said the police took bribe to avoid pursuing the case.
The DFO, on the other hand, imposed a fine of Rs240,000 on the contractor for ‘stealing’ the trees. Sources said the fine should be more than Rs1 million, but the DFO gave the relaxation to the contractor.
Mr Sandhiala is said to be a close relative of PA to a known political figure in the district.
According to sources, the PA owns a restaurant near the Chenab River Bridge and the DFO spent hundreds of thousands of rupees for its renovation from his own pocket. “The DFO is also constructing a palatial bungalow in Lahore,” they said.
Sources said the officials of the forest department had also tampered with the record book to conceal the Shisham theft and lower the fine. The matter, they said, was also brought into the notice of EDO (Agriculture) Shahid Rasheed Awan but he was silent over the issue owing to influence of his subordinate, Sandhila.
When contacted, Mr Sandhila denied having any links with the mafia tampering with the record. He said he had fined the contractor in keeping with the rules.
Asked about the allegations of renovating a restaurant and constructing bungalow in Lahore, he said he neither gave money to any one for renovation of any restaurant nor was he constructing any house.
It is pertinent to note that the mafia had been cutting trees on the Shadiwal-Qiladar Road some months ago and EDO Shahid Rasheed stopped it from doing so.
Requesting anonymity, some contractors said the provincial forest minister and the chief conservator were unaware of these malpractices.
They said some contractors ambitious for earning some bucks fast were involved in malpractices. “What they do is that they get the contracts against higher rewards, steal the timber and sell it at cheaper rates in the furniture industry market.” This practice, said a contractor, had virtually brought the honest contractors to starvation.
The contractors demanded that the provincial high-ups of the forest department should order an impartial inquiry into the matter and take a punitive action against the corrupt officials.