Arbab helpless against rampant corruption in Forest Department

Rampant corruption in the Sindh Wildlife and Forest Department and widespread encroachment of forestland have gone out of control of Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, it is learnt.
It is only in District Dadu that 10,887 acres, out of 115,141 acres, of forestland are under illegal occupation, and the Chief Minister is on record expressing his inability to get it vacated.
He said that removal of encroachment activity by the Forest Department was not effectively done due either to indifferent attitude of the local police or its engagement in security and other activities.
This inability of the chief minister to get the encroached costly forestland freed is despite several actions that were taken to strengthen him by means of various measures.
In all, 26 first information reports (FIRs) were lodged against various encroachers at different police stations of Dadu district. One offender/encroacher, Hayat Marri, has been punished for one-year imprisonment and Rs 15,000 fine by the judicial magistrate of Sehwan. Two other offenders/encroachers, Irshad Ali Jatoi and Azizullah Jatoi, have been convicted for one-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) and Rs 5000 fine each by the judicial magistrate of Dadu.
Out of 26 FIRs, these three isolated cases ended up in convictions and fines, but the encroached land still continues to remain in illegal occupation. Those who were convicted were reportedly the workers, or tenants, of influential landlords--the real encroachers of the area.
The Chief Minister also said that the Forest Department often got setback by the litigation from the encroachers who get stay orders from courts. This lingers the process further.
The chief minister does not defend charges of corruption against the officials of the Forest and Wildlife Department.
According to Chief Minister Rahim, one case, titled 'Allegation against Mr. Jam Mumtaz Hussein Dahar, the then minister forest & others' was recommended for registration by Anti-Corruption Committee No 1 in its meeting held on 24.8.2004, against the minister and abetting officers. (Dahar has died).
The abetting officers included Bahauddin Sirhandi, then Secretary, forest department, government of Sindh, now retired; Afzal Huque, then chief conservator, now retired; Muhammad Pathan, then conservator, Sukkur, since dead; Abid Ali Khan, then director sericulture, Hyderabad, now retired'; Syed Amjad Husain Shah, then DFO, Thatta, now retired; Rahim Bux Awan, then DFO, Tando Muhammad Khan; and Amir Ali Solangi, then DFO, Mirpur Mathelo.
Some other beneficiaries and private persons who indulged in corruption included Muhammad Essa Khan Dahar, Hazar Khan, Ikhtiar Ali, Ghulam Rasool Dahar, Allahdad alias Dad Dahar, Mehmood Rajri and Mehmood Khan Dahar.
The chief minister is reported to have said that due to some confusion, no action was taken and the forest department was asked to send its comments in the Anti Corruption Committee No 1 meeting held on 29.1.2005, which were sent on 17.2.2005. The case was again considered by the ACC-1 in its meeting held on 29.4.2005 and was deferred. The case is pending with the anti corruption establishment and no further communication has been received by the forest department.
The Sindh Forestry Development Project has another story to tell. All corruption charges against the department have either been shelved or are pending decision.
This project was launched in 1991 at a cost of Rs 1096.579 million with five broad objectives: to strengthen the capabilities of Sindh Forest Department; to bridge the existing gap between supply and demand of fuel wood by raising new plantations; to rehabilitate existing state plantation seriously degraded due to paucity of funds, inefficient irrigation system and insufficient silvicultural operations; to assist farmers in establishing farm wood lots, shelterbelts and hurries on private farmland and provide them training in nursery planting techniques; and, to improve environment by adding tree cover on government and private lands.
The duration of the project was ten years. It was reported as completed in 2001, but only after leaving stories of large-scale corruption and bungling in funds.
The Sindh chief minister has agrees to the allegation that a complaint against the department was lodged with National Accountability Bureau. The NAB conducted an investigation for the alleged embezzlement of funds in Sindh Forestry Development project. Required details were provided to NAB vide AD's letter NO: FW&E (SO1) 19(3)/2001 dated 23rd December 2002. Since then there no communication has been received from NAB.
Sources said that Since December 2002, almost four years now, the NAB has neither disposed of this case nor reported any progress. They said that corruption at all levels in the forest department and in almost all districts is equally spread.
"These cases remain hidden, or shelved, under political pressure and whenever the political pressure weakens, some cases become known." Sources close to the chief minister said that the CM was sandwiched between political pressures and red tape of bureaucracy.