UPPER DIR, Sept 18: The Biyar-Kohistan forest royalty holders have warned that steps taken by some forest department officials at Sheringal and a timber contractor may lead to a conflict in the area.

Representatives of the royalty holders, including Abdul Ghafar, Sher Azam, Habibur Rehman, Sultan Malik, Akhun Jan and Sahib Shah, alleged at a press conference in Dir that the manager forest operation (MFO), Swat, was bent upon inviting tenders for compartments No.54 to 77 of the area in violation of the directives of the NWFP forests minister, secretary and chief conservator.

“The royalty holders of Biyar want the tenders to be held in abeyance till the solution of some problems,” they said.

“If the tenders are invited, the MFO will be responsible for bloodshed,” they warned.

That said the Joint Forest Management Committee (JFMC) was supposed to protect the interests of royalty holders but its president Ghulam Rasool had become a puppet in the hands of a contractor, Mohammad Zameen.

They said the divisional forest officer (DFO), Sheringal, had not constituted a new committee despite the lapse of seven months after its three-year tenure ended.

They said the forests minister, secretary and chief conservator had written a letter to the local forest department, directing it to solve the royalty holders’ problems and not to invite tenders without consulting them.

They warned that they would observe hunger strike and hold protest demonstrations if the tenders were invited illegally.

When contacted, Sheringal DFO Gulzar Rehman contended that the tenure of the JFMC was of five years. About inviting the tenders, he said the department had the responsibility to ensure maximum revenue. “The timber in Biyar forest will rot if we do not bring it to use,” he said.