Concerned residents living near the Presidential Mansion raised an uproar on the failure of environmentalists to check the ongoing excavation and evident tree-cutting in an area within the vicinity of the Presidential Mansion, saying that their silence on the said matter casts doubts on their integrity as protectors of the environment.
Sources, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal and security reasons, disclosed that the massive excavation and tree-cutting had been going on for quite some time in the said area but it seems that these environmentalists who had been harping against tree cutting in the different parts of the city are now very silent on this matter with people making the conclusion that they are practicing double standard in their advocacy.
The sources claimed that the application for the issuance of emergency tree-cutting permits for trees that pose a serious threat to life and limb takes time because of the need to undergo the needed investigation and validation but it seems that in the case of the tree-cutting in the said area, it was immediately granted clearances and permits by the city government and concerned government agencies for whatever reasons.
Further, the sources challenged the environmentalists to also stage rallies condemning the blatant tree-cutting in the said area similar to what they had been doing in the past to legitimate tree-cutting activities on private properties to maintain their credibility as protectors of the city’s environment.
According to them, these self-proclaimed environmentalists did not even honor the defense of city government offices and concerned government agencies that the trees to be cut are within the private properties of the applicants, thus, they are now questioning what is now the position of the same people on the latest blatant tree-cutting near the Mansion House.
The sources also challenged the environmentalists to look around the city to see for themselves the tree-cutting done in some private and public areas for them to also condemn the same because it was literally hidden from the eyes of the public for them to escape condemnation to make it appear that what they had done are justified based on their own reasoning and appreciation of facts but not in the eyes of true-blue environmentalists who continue to be vigilant on the destruction of the environment contrary to the actuations displayed by their double standard colleagues.
The sources stipulated on why the environmentalists aligned with self-righteous leaders are not speaking out on this latest tree-cutting activity when in fact this activity is an actual serious threat to the state of the city’s environment which is now on a critical level.
Moreover, the sources asserted that the refusal of environmentalists to speak out on the matter is a clear indication of their dubious position on who among those involved in tree-cutting activities will be criticized and when to issue strongly-worded statements against activities that are destructive to the state of the environment. Contributed article
