Jammu, 27-04-2023 : Jammu and Kashmir Border Area Development Conference(JK_BADC) a registered organization working for the rights of border residents of J & K has called for a white paper on the Status of afforestation in border district Poonch and funds spent thereof in this regard. The organization has also called for a third party special audit of the funds spent by the forest department in Poonch.
Alleging massive discrepancies in number of trees planted on papers and actual afforestation made in the district Poonch, the organization has demanded a full fledged audit of the funds spent by the forest department on the name of afforestation during last 5 years.
Dr Shazad Ahmed Malik, Chairman of the BADC and former Vice Chancellor alleged that millions of rupees are spent under state and central schemes on the name of forest area development and wild life protection but no one knows the actual status and the results thereof, therefore it is imperative that the government orders an independent audit of the forest department in district Poonch and find out the difference between the actual spending and the funds utilized on papers.
The BADC Chairman said people have the right to know when, where and how their hard earned money is being spent, but the forest department here works in complete classified manner that raises more doubts.
Dr Shazad informed that the several elected Panchayat members of the border district had also brought this issue into his notice regarding the suspicious role of some officers of the forest department. He demanded active participation of Gram Panchayats, Activists and NGOs in afforestation programs conducted by the Forest department in the border district Poonch.