ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government spokesman while contradicting a news item appeared in The News on January 25, 2016 with a caption, ‘Rs100 billion needed to plant 1.2 billion trees in KP,’ said that it was based on mere speculations, hearsay and was divorced from the facts on record, says a handout.
If ‘The News’, as a matter of moral obligation, had taken the trouble of cross checking his story before inking this report, it might not have portrayed the picture, the spokesman said. In order to set the record straight, the following submissions are presented;
There is no serving Conservator of Forests, having doctoral degree in Forestry, as contended in the report in KP Forest Service. Therefore, report has lost credibility.
The cost of raising seedling in nursery has been reported as Rs30 a seedling, while department has purchased seedlings from private growers Rs6 per tubeling and Rs9 per bare rooted seedling. The learned correspondent himself can check the record and market rates.
The project has set out target of raising one billion seedlings, of which 600 seedlings will be either planted or obtained through dibbling or sowing, while another 400 million seedlings will be grown through inducing and protecting natural vegetation. However, in bigger plantations through affording protection about 10 percent seedlings can be induced through activation of natural seed banks.
The project is getting 200 million seedlings planted through farm forestry as such net planting and sowing will be carried out to raise 400 million seedlings.
The cost of planting is not Rs80 per plant. The cost of planting is much lower, but in case of sowing and inducing natural regeneration it is as low as Rs8 per plant and Rs17 per plant. Thus total estimated cost of the programme till June 2018 will hardly be up to Rs22 billion and not Rs100 billion as reported.
The project plans to carry out planting or sowing over about 300,000 ha i.e. 4 percent of area, while other plants will be grown in existing forest areas, barren state lands or farmlands. For this 4 percent area people are voluntarily surrendering lands as it provides labour in far flung areas, improves marginal lands, increases supply base of timber, fuel and fodder and creates resilience in vulnerable communities.
The activities are regularly monitored by department, project, P&D Department as well as third party monitors. Recently WWF-Pakistan a credible professional organisation has carried out monitoring of project activities. They reported that survival percentage of block plantations is 86 percent, of linear plantation 79 percent and in farmlands 65 percent.
It can be safely concluded that the referred Conservator of Forests has absolutely no knowledge of project intervention, its modalities and results and as such the report has attempted to twist the facts.
Tariq Butt adds: It will not be less than a miracle if the KP government is successful in sticking to its declaration that “total estimated cost of the programme till June 2018 will hardly be up to Rs22 billion,” made in this contradiction. The estimate is very much on the lower side.
The second point deserving a comment is the non-existence of a ‘serving’ forestry conservator, having doctoral degree, in KP. If there is no such doctor in KP, there are quite a few in other provinces. This correspondent prepared the news report in the light of thought-provoking discussions with them.
The News stands by its story.