Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Environment, Wajid Ali Khan, said that the provincial government has constituted a ministerial committee for compiling recommendations regarding forests. He was replying to a question regarding illegal cuttings of forests and registration of cases in provincial assembly. The question was asked by Mufti Kifayatullah of JUI-F.
The PML-N, legislator from Kohistan, Abdul Sattar, also put supplementary question. The Assembly resumed proceedings after interval of one day with Speaker, Kiramatullah Khan in the Chair. The provincial minister told the House that in the wake of the devastated flood of 1992 Federal Government had completely banned forest cuttings. However, he said that the previous government relaxed the ban and allowed the cuttings of wind-fallen and dried trees.
After the passage of 18th Constitutional Amendment the ministry of environment devolved to provinces and the provincial government constituted a ministerial committee for compiling of recommendations regarding environment policy. The committee, he said has already prepared its recommendations, which for approval will be presented in the Cabinet.
In response to the question of the registration of cases and imposition of fines for illegal forests cutting, the House was told that during last five years a total of 24,748 persons were fined and FIRs were registered against 32,450 persons, which are being followed by the departmentally appointed Forest Standing Counsel and through Forest Public Prosecutors.
To another question, he said that during last three years, the provincial government has initiated five carp fish hatcheries in hot water of Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Bannu and D.I. Khan while seven cold water hatcheries in Chitral, Kalkot, Madiyan, Shangla, Kohistan, Mansehra and Battagram for producing nurseries to be released in both public and private water.
In response to a question regarding payment of compensation to the families of the Abbottabad mine collapse incident, the Provincial Minister for Mines and Mineral Development, Nawabzada Mehmood Zeb Khan said that Workers Welfare Board extends facilities to only registered workers. However, he said that the incident concerned was of illegal mining.