LAYYAH, Sept 13: A timber mafia continues to chop down trees in collusion with some forest officials in the district.

The Punjab Forest Department had established Macho and Anayat forest ranges on thousands of acres of state land on both banks of Munda canal near Chowk Azam. Macho sub-division has 10,154 acres and Anayat forest range is spread over 10,450 acres.

The local forest authorities planted an uncountable number of saplings in these forest ranges which became one of the largest artificial forests in Punjab. A sub-divisional forest officer and 30 guards are posted in 15 forest beats to look after hundreds of thousands of trees at Macho sub-division while 12 guards are on duty in as many beats of Anayat forest range.

And although a police station has been established to check the timber theft, illegal hammering of trees of trees is going on as a result of which the forests are being deprived of trees worth millions.

A recent visit to the forest revealed that several saw machines had been placed inside and around the borders with the consent of the forest officials. The correspondent found that the stems of the trees bearing official numbers were very much there, though the whole trees were missing.

On both banks of the Munda canal especially between stone numbers 13 to 15 one can see the remains of the stems. A local said the practice was being carried out by the timber mafia to escape legal action as the official number of tree remains untouched.

Among the owners of the saw machines near the border of forest are Abdul Hameed (Chak 156-TDA), Kareem Bakhsh Thori and Mulazim Hussain at Chaks 356, 387, 360 TDA. The installations of Najaf alias Najja Kasab and Muhammad Bakhsh, a cobbler, had been erected deep in the forest.

The trees were brought to these saw machines on donkey carts where they were converted into timber and the remains were sold as fire woods. The whole process takes a few hours to complete.

The Chowk Azam police registered tens of criminal cases against the timber mafia on the reports of forest officials, but none of them has ever been punished as the forest department does not pursue these cases in trial courts. Improper inquiries against the officials involved in illegal cutting of trees too have failed to stem the rot.

Mazhar Nawaz Lashari, a known environmentalist, demanded that the chief minister order a high-level inquiry and take stern action against the culprits.

Divisional Forest Officer Illyas Bashir Qazi, while speaking to Dawn, denied installation of any saw machine in the forest or on the state land. However, he said, some people had got the machines installed on the borders of forests (away from their jurisdiction).

“I have sealed a saw machine owned by Khuda Bakhsh Jhakhar at Chak 396-TDA and imposed Rs70,000 fine on the owner for using the state’s wood.”

Mukhtar Ahmad, a prosecutor of the forest department, said the department could do nothing without the help of the local administration. It had requested the district administration to impose section 144 for the removal of saw machines from the borders, he added.