Hyderabad: The provincial government initiated an anti-encroachment drive on Sunday against illegally farmed crops in the district of Matiari, a news source reported. The purpose behind the drive is to remove crops that have been sown on forest land, as this is a violation of the apex court’s orders.
According to Sindh Minister for Forests Nasir Shah, the anti-encroachment operation was launched in wake of new forestation policies that the Sindh government is planning on approving and implementing soon. The crackdown was supervised by forest secretary Abdul Rahim Soomro, who was assisted by 200 police personnel and revenue department staff.
An official from the forest department stated that around 5,000 acres of land had been reclaimed, out of the 25,000 acres under illegal occupation. The department had to make sure that no tree was felled while cultivation was taking place, as they it had planned on filing cases against individuals who caused illegal loss of trees. Items used to facilitate these illegal activities, like tractors and cultivators, were also to be seized.
Reportedly, the operation was carried out before the cabinet approves of a new forest policy, called the Sindh Sustainable Forest Policy 2019. Under the new policy, forestation is to be promoted on all official forest land including the riverain area in Matiari district. Anti-encroachment drives like this are essential for conservation efforts, as the major issue with encroachments is that in order to cultivate forest land, several trees need to be chopped down first — this leads to environmental degradation over the years.
