KARACHI: Trees in Karachi continue to fall prey to the illegal cutting with alleged patronage of the concerned authorities and the vital green cover shrinks day by day.
According to details, some influential people of Karachi’s District West with alleged patronage of officials DMC West Horticulture Department chopped many trees in order to benefit the local shops.
The influential people have chopped a number of trees on the sidewalk of the road from Habib Bank Chowrangi to Walika Chowrangi.
Sources have revealed that the district police have also received a huge bribe in this regard, whereas, Administrator and Deputy Commissioner of District West have turned a blind eye to this issue.
It is worth mentioning here that there are no regulations or guidelines in place to govern trees in Karachi. There’s no specific law for the city, however, there is one for forests in Sindh province.
Earlier in 2019, Lahore High Court (LHC) declared it mandatory for all housing societies in Punjab to plant at least two trees in front of each newly constructed house and ensure land for green belts. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs25,000 for chopping down a tree.
