Improper planning of BTAP cost millions to national kitty.

PESHAWAR -- Recent floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had badly exposed the ill-planning of the Ten-Billion Trees Afforestation Project (10 BTAP) damaging several sites where the provincial government had spent millions of rupees for afforestation.

The August 27 devastating floods that started in Mataltan and Kalam valleys in Swat have exposed the poor planning and selection of inappropriate plantation sites, river training programs, nurseries, waterlogs, and other schemes.

As a result, 52 plantation sites covering 968 hectares of land in Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Kurram, Bajaur, Orakzai, and South Waziristan areas were affected inflicting Rs 108.530 million in financial losses to the already fragile economy of the province.

Ten Billion Tree Afforestation Project (BTAP), a flagship project of the Pakistan Tahrik-i-Insaf (PTI) government that had a share of Rs27.3 billion of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and was executed on plantation sites at 2216 hectares of land, caused loss of an overall Rs255 million to the provincial government kitty.

According to official data, in addition to losses mentioned in the above seven cities, a loss of Rs41.729 million has also been reported from Haripur, Abbottabad, Manshera, and Kohistan districts of the Hazara division.

Damages have also been reported from 60 sites in the Bunner watershed division due to irresponsible selection of different plantation sites, bio-engineering schemes, bad land stabilization, check dams, rains water harvesting, nurseries, and water development schemes on 460 hectares of land.

Alike reports of damages to about 96 plantation sites including avenue and moist afforestation were also reported due to bad land stabilization schemes, nurseries, and bio-engineering from Swat, Shangla, Dir Kohistan, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, and Chitral districts. Plantation on 787.23 hectares of land in these districts was also badly affected causing a loss of Rs104.792 million.

Besides these flood-specific losses, there are also reports of irregularities being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau allegedly claiming the prospects of much more financial bungling in the project.

Wajid Ali Khan, former Minister for Environment and Forests has described the ill planning of the provincial government as one the main reasons behind these financial losses.

'BTAP's plantations and agreements inked with farmers for the provision of land for afforestation were made in haste as these plantation sites were not meant for...