Pakistan's Ten Billion Tree Tsunami: Auditor-General's special audit for 2022-23
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
- Government and regulators Auditor-General of Pakistan (Directorate General of Audit, Punjab): Found 367 sites below the 70% benchmark and listed Rs 369,772,996 as wastage of public resources; called the management reply evasive. Auditor-General of Pakistan
- Government and regulators Forest, Wildlife & Fisheries Department, Government of the Punjab (management reply): Replied that the 70% success rate is the benchmark after establishment of the crop and that monitoring reports showed the success rate during execution; final results would appear after completion of the project. Auditor-General of Pakistan
A special audit of the National Strategic Support Unit of the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme by the Auditor-General of Pakistan, dated 11 August 2023, recorded 1,838.59 million plants against a target of 2,332.33 million for 2019 to 2022 and physical monitoring of 801 of 6,501 GIS-integrated sites. A separate audit of the programme in Punjab found 367 sites below the 70% survival benchmark.
Auditor-General of Pakistan, special audit for audit year 2022-23, dated 11 August 2023.
Status As of the latest source (27 November 2024): the Auditor-General's findings of 2023 are on record; the programme's replies are recorded in the audit reports and no follow-up audit is in the sources reviewed.
- Public funds (Punjab audit item) — Rs 369,772,996 listed under the audit's heading "Wastage of public resources due to unsatisfactory success ratio for survival of plants" Auditor-General of Pakistan
What happened
The Auditor-General of Pakistan carried out special audits of the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme for audit year 2022-23. The audit of the programme's National Strategic Support Unit (NSSU), dated 11 August 2023, covered financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22 and was conducted on a test-check basis. It recorded that 1,838.59 million plants were planted against a set target of 2,332.33 million, a shortfall of 494 million plants that the audit held "was not justified"; the audit's table counts plantation, assisted natural regeneration and distribution. It recorded that the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives had released Rs 34,413 million against an approved allocation of Rs 83,525 million for the forestry component during FY 2019-2022.
The same audit recorded that 15,809 plantation sites were reported on the programme dashboard, that project management units reported 6,501 sites in GIS format for FY 2019-21, and that physical monitoring covered 801 of those 6,501 GIS-integrated sites in FY 2020-21 (12.32%), with none in FY 2021-22. It held that, without GIS data on 9,308 plantation sites, a post-plantation monitoring mechanism to determine damage and survival of plants through remote sensing could not be developed. The audit also recorded that the Principal Accounting Officer did not convene a Departmental Accounts Committee meeting despite repeated requests in February and March 2023.
A separate special audit of the programme in Punjab for the same audit year covered financial years 2019-22. Its item on survival of plants found 367 sites below the 70% acceptable ultimate survival benchmark in departmental monitoring reports, 49 of them at 0–25% survival, and listed Rs 369,772,996 under the heading "Wastage of public resources due to unsatisfactory success ratio for survival of plants". Management replied that the 70% rate is a benchmark after establishment of the crop; the audit called the reply evasive. On 27 November 2024 Profit (Pakistan Today) published a report headlined "Audit uncovers Rs5.2bn mismanagement" on the Punjab audit.
- 2019Start of the 2019–2022 planting period covered by the NSSU audit.
- 202322 June: the Departmental Accounts Committee for the Punjab audit kept the survival-ratio items pending for probe at administrative level.
- 202311 August: the Auditor-General's special audit report on the National Strategic Support Unit, audit year 2022-23, was signed.
- 202427 November: Profit (Pakistan Today) reported on the Punjab audit under the headline "Audit uncovers Rs5.2bn mismanagement".
What was said
“Wastage of public resources due to unsatisfactory success ratio for survival of plants”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Found 367 sites below the 70% benchmark and listed Rs 369,772,996 as wastage of public resources; called the management reply evasive.
Auditor-General of PakistanReplied that the 70% success rate is the benchmark after establishment of the crop and that monitoring reports showed the success rate during execution; final results would appear after completion of the project.
Auditor-General of PakistanHow it looked
Shown
Recorded
- The audit of the programme's National Strategic Support Unit (NSSU) recorded that 1,838.59 million plants were planted against a set target of 2,332.33 million for 2019 to 2022; the audit's table counts plantation, assisted natural regeneration and distribution. The audit held that non-plantation of 494 million plants "was not justified".
- The NSSU audit recorded that 15,809 plantation sites were reported on the programme dashboard for FY 2019-20 to 2021-22, while project management units reported 6,501 sites in GIS format for FY 2019-21 and none in FY 2021-22. Physical monitoring of 801 of the 6,501 GIS-integrated sites was carried out in FY 2020-21, "only 12.32 %", and no monitoring was carried out in FY 2021-22.
- The NSSU audit held that, without GIS data on 9,308 plantation sites, a post-plantation monitoring mechanism for determining damage and survival extent of plants of each site through remote sensing could not be developed.
- The NSSU audit recorded that the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives released Rs 34,413 million to the programme under the forestry component against an approved allocation of Rs 83,525 million during FY 2019-2022; the programme's PC-I earmarked Rs 109,380 million under the forestry component for 2019-20 to 2022-23.
- The Punjab audit item found that 367 sites were below the 70% acceptable ultimate survival benchmark set by the Provincial Project Steering Committee on 12 May 2020, according to departmental monitoring reports for 2019-20 (second half) and 2020-21 (first half): 49 sites at 0–25%, 164 at 25–50% and 157 at 50–65%. The amount listed with the item was Rs 369,772,996.
- For the Punjab wildlife project "Revival of Wildlife Resources in Punjab", the audit recorded that of a total allocation of Rs 5,623.769 million, Rs 375.561 million was spent, and listed a finding of Rs 5,258.92 million on misconceived planning parameters and delay in project revision by ECNEC.
- Profit (Pakistan Today), 27 November 2024: report on the Punjab audit headlined "Audit uncovers Rs5.2bn mismanagement", saying that the audit identified mismanagement of over Rs5.2 billion in public funds during 2019-2022.
In nature's name
Money moved in nature's name
| What | Kind | Amount | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved allocation to the forestry component, as stated in the Auditor-General's special audit of the National Strategic Support Unit Ten Billion Tree Tsunami programme Auditor-General of Pakistan | Budget | 83.5bn PKR | FY 2019-2022 |
| Released of the allocation, as stated in the same audit Ten Billion Tree Tsunami programme Auditor-General of Pakistan | Paid out | 34.4bn PKR | FY 2019-2022 |
| Funds earmarked under the forestry component in the programme's PC-I, as stated in the same audit Ten Billion Tree Tsunami programme Auditor-General of Pakistan | Budget | 109.4bn PKR | 2019-20 to 2022-23 |
What was measured
The Auditor-General's special audits are official audits. The NSSU audit compared plants recorded with the target; the Punjab audit compared survival at sites with a 70% benchmark. The NSSU audit held that a post-plantation monitoring mechanism for survival could not be developed for the sites not reported in GIS format, so no programme-wide survival rate is on record. Planting counts supplied by the programme are not an independent measurement of benefit.
Findings on record
- Official audit Auditor-General of Pakistan (2023-08-11) · Special audit, audit year 2022-23, National Strategic Support Unit: “non plantation of a huge number of plants i.e. 494 million was not justified” Auditor-General of Pakistan
- Official audit Auditor-General of Pakistan · Special audit, audit year 2022-23, Punjab, item 4.1.1: “Wastage of public resources due to unsatisfactory success ratio for survival of plants” Auditor-General of Pakistan
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- pakistan-government (2022-11): Management of the National Strategic Support Unit replied that the programme and the Ministry of Climate Change had already taken up the matter of funds with the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives. · Auditor-General of Pakistan
- pakistan-government (2023): Management of the Punjab Forest, Wildlife & Fisheries Department replied that the 70% success rate is a benchmark after establishment of the crop and that the final result of success would appear after completion of the project; the audit described the reply as evasive. · Auditor-General of Pakistan
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
- Disputed Whether the survival ratios of Punjab plantation sites below the 70% benchmark showed wastage of public resources
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Record
- None on record No Auditor-General audit of survival in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Billion Tree phase (2014–2017) was found.
- None on record The text of the Punjab special audit report reviewed carries no date.
- Insufficient Unconfirmed: Profit (Pakistan Today) of 27 November 2024 describes the Rs5.2 billion as mismanagement; the audit report lists it as a finding on "misconceived planning parameters without due diligence and delay in Project Revision by ECNEC" of Rs 5,258.92 million.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable: no harm to nature is recorded in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Rs 34,413 million of Rs 83,525 million approved allocation had been released by the Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives during FY 2019-2022, according to the NSSU audit; the programme is financed by the Government of Pakistan and co-financed by the Provincial Governments, according to the programme's PC-I as cited in the audit.
Sources
Government and regulators
- Special Audit Report on National Strategic Support Unit of Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, Audit Year 2022-23Auditor-General of Pakistan · 2023-08-11
Press and investigations
- Audit uncovers Rs5.2bn mismanagementProfit (Pakistan Today) · 2024-11-27
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