Trees Cut Down, No Action: Mardan Sports Complex Environmental Law Violation Alleged

musarrat ullah jan -

 


MARDAN — The recent felling of trees at the Mardan Sports Complex, located in the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has raised serious concerns regarding environmental laws, transparency, and the performance of government institutions. A request submitted under the Right to Information Act (KP RTI Act 2013) on January 8, 2025, has yet to receive a satisfactory response.

The petitioner had requested comprehensive information about the felling of trees, environmental impact assessment (EIA), and the legal approvals required for the project at Mardan Sports Complex. The law required this information to be provided within 15 days. But the information received on February 17, 2025, is not only incomplete but also does not respond to several important aspects.

The reply from the sports department stated that the project was connected with the Deputy Commissioner of Mardan and the Forest Department, which is lawfully a very weak reason. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Act 2014 explicitly mentions that such projects should have an EIA from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but nothing like that has been stated. The reply merely mentioned the felling of "9 trees" without giving any description of the age, variety, or ecological importance of these trees. Also, no information was provided where and when new trees would be planted.

Further,no specific information was revealed about the project structure, including its overall expenditure, funding sources, environmental clearance, or legal permissions. The RTI application also asked about public consultations, but no information was supplied on this count as well.

Experts say that if the sports department itself is not adhering to environmental regulations, it will create a dangerous precedent. The lack of transparency, not doing an EIA, and ignoring legal requirements are all direct duties of the Director General of Sports, the Sports Secretary, and the Sports Minister.

Environmentalists and local residents are raising strong objections to tree cutting. They call for complete information regarding the project to be released to the public, for the damage to the environment to be addressed, and that no future projects move forward without a proper EIA. Trees are not just greenery — they are the lungs of our cities. In a highly populated city like Mardan, the felling of trees from an area like a sports complex, accompanied by no response when questions are being asked, seriously questions the allegations of open governance.

#EPA #SPORTS #MARDAN #KPK #KP #sports #directorate #kp #treecutting #environment #issues #Kikxnow #digitalcreator

 

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