PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday sought the provincial government’s response to a petition a judicial inquiry into the recent wildfires in several forest areas.

       A bench consisting of Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Shakeel Ahmad issued the notice for the purpose after holding preliminary hearing into a petition, which claimed over 200 wildfires had damaged forests and pastures over thousands of acres in the province for over a month.

       Another petition filed by Abdul Razzaq of Chitral is already pending with the court seeking orders for the government to introduce alternate sources of energy for domestic use in forest areas instead of firewood.

       Malik Ajmal Khan, lawyer for the petitioner, said several fires had broken out in forest areas across the province since last month causing widespread destruction.

       He said the cause of fires had yet not been found, so it was necessary to conduct a judicial inquiry into the incidents.

       The bench observed that the forest department had submitted the sought-after report on the issue to it. It asked the counsel for the petitioner to examine the report.

       Additional advocate general Syed Sikandar Hayat Shah said the report had clearly explained the causes of those wildfires.

       He said following the submission of that report, there appeared to be no need for a judicial inquiry.

       The bench asked the AAG to produce the government’s response to the petition.

       It also heard the main petition of Abdul Razzaq along with two other forest and environment-related ones.

       The petitions were filed by Barrister Adnan Khan and Chitral resident Razitu Billah, respectively.

       About alternate sources of energy, project director (solar) of the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation Engineer Asif Kamal Shah informed the bench that solarisation of 8,000 government schools and 2,000 mosques had so far been completed.

       He said another project of solarisation of around 2,000 mosques in tribal districts had also been in progress, which would help conserve energy.

       Mr Shah claimed that the Asian Development Bank had launched the solarisation project.

       About the court’s proposal about the introduction of windmill technology, he said such projects won’t succeed in the province as wind mostly came from oceans and its pressure would be low after reaching areas like Dera Ismail Khan.

       Pedo director (mini-hydel projects) Faisal Aziz Dawar said 316 micro-power projects had so far been completed in the province generating 28.3 megawatts of electricity.

       He said 291 such projects were in the pipeline to produce 47MW electricity.

       Mr Dawar said the Pedo didn’t make any profit through those projects and hand it over to the local population.

       He added that the money generated by those projects was mostly utilised on the maintenance of the unit and payment of salary to the relevant employees.

       The bench directed officials to produce a detailed report on the matter and adjourned hearing.

       Petitioner Abdul Razzaq has challenged the felling of trees for domestic use in the mountainous forest regions, especially in the winter season and sought the court’s orders for the relevant authorities to check the practice.

       Similarly, petitioner Razitu Billah, who was represented by lawyer Sher Haider Khan, has challenged the shelving of a government project for supplying liquefied petroleum gas to different areas in Lower Chitral district.

       Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2022