The State authorities have claimed that 90 per cent of forest fires in the State are caused by humans. The authorities also stated that about 90 per cent of the forest fires in Uttarakhand had been brought under control. This was stated by the forest department in the High Court which had on Wednesday sought information from the State Government on the status of forest fires and measures taken to tackle these.
On Thursday, the matter was taken up by the division bench of chief justice KM Joseph and justice Sharad Kumar Sharma. The court has directed the State and central governments to file replies by June 25 in this regard.
During the hearing, the government was asked about the area affected by forest fires and the resultant loss in revenue so far. The high court division bench also asked about the number of cases registered against persons and the locations where forest fires were reported from. The division bench also sough the reasons for the forest fires. The chief conservator of forests, Kumaon, Kapil Joshi, who was present in court, provided the sought information to the high court. He said that 90 per cent of the forest fire had been brought under control. Cases had been registered against four persons, he said, while adding that 90 per cent of the forest fires had been set up by humans. The Garhwal region has been affected more by forest fires than the Kumaon region.
later, addressing the media, advocate MC Pant said that the department had stated that 90 per cent of the forest fires had been caused by humans. He said that with majority of the people migrating away from the villages, it was incorrect to state that 90 per cent of the forest fires were man-made. He would respond to this in the court, added Pant.