Celebrated by Imran Khan’s party as their signal achievement, the program has been plagued by allegations of corruption.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s flagship billion tree tsunami has attracted the attention of anti-graft authorities, Independent Pakistan can report.
The concerned authorities have decided to conduct a special audit of the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Program (TBTTP) in order to ascertain alleged irregularities or embezzlement of funds. The probe will cover the last three years of the program (from FY 2019-20 to FY 2021-22).
The Ministry of Climate Change has written to the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) requesting a special audit of the program, involving spending to the tune of billions of rupees, ostensibly to plant ten billion trees all over the country.
Likely to be completed in 2023, the TBTTP was a flagship federal program under the coalition government headed up by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). It is being implemented in all provinces including GB and AJK through the respective Forest and Wildlife Departments.
The Ministry is supervising and coordinating program activities through a Project Management Unit termed as National Strategic Support Unit (NSSU), responsible for the monitoring of project activities, being implemented by provincial and territorial forest and wildlife departments.
Officials say it is imperative to conduct financial audit of the program, never conducted so far, to ensure transparency and financial integrity.
The Ministry’s official letter requesting the special audit of NSSU – TBTTP for financial years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22.
It is now up to the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) to constitute a special audit team to undertake a special audit covering the last three years of the program, with a view getting insight into the program spending to the tune of billions of rupees.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
