The State Principal Chief Conservator of Forests had written a letter to the Principal Secretary, Forests and Environment, on July 31 expressing apprehensions about practical difficulties in implementation of the law if the recent State Government directive to allow farming in forest areas by nomadic cattle herders was allowed without any control.
However, wildlife activists have alleged that instead of taking cognisance of this and taking necessary action, the State Government has ignored violations and negative environmental impact to indulge in vote bank politics.
The government passed an order on July 27 on removing restrictions on cultivation in demarcated got-khattas- traditional grazing camps of nomadic pastoralists during the British Era who slowly started settling down in these areas and started permanent grazing, followed by cultivation of fodder and subsequently crops. The activists said that this is a violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 which prohibits any non forest activity like cultivation in reserve forests, except for work relating to conservation.
On July 31, the PCCF Dr RBS Rawat wrote a letter to the Principal Secretary, Forests and Environment, citing an Uttarakhand High Court order of Februrary 2013 which stated, “ln light of the aforesaid, the writ petition is disposed off with a direction that the petitioners shall abide by all forest laws inclucling Wildlife Act, Forest Act, Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 etc.
lt is made clear that the petitioners cannot claim any beneflts or amenities which are available to the residents of non-forest area, such as electricity, water amenities, etc.” The PCCF cited other factors too and stated that allowing non-forestry activities in reserve forests without any control would present practical problems in the implementation of various forest and wildlife laws. He stated that granting such permission would not be proper without receiving guidelines from the ministry of Environment and Forests.
The PCCF and Additional Secretary, Forests and Environment, Manoj Chandran could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.
However, Gauri Maulekhi of People for Animals, Uttarakhand, which is heading the wildlife activists opposing the Government order, alleged that political interference is preventing the authorities from taking necessary action to
prevent violation of the law and ensuring protection of the
environment.