Environmentalists and activists have expressed concern stating that the dubious commercial exploitation of trees has become easier for the forest mafia after the forest fires affected the State’s forests.
According to environmental activist Suresh Bhai, there have been instances of forest fires being sparked for declaring the forests dry. Forests covering more than 4,000 hectare land area in the mountains of Uttarkashi, Tehri, Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts have been affected by the wildfires this time.
A large number of trees affected by the wildfires are now falling flat due to stormy conditions and strong winds, he said. This has increased the possibility of axing of green trees under the pretext of removing trees affected by wildfires.
Suresh Bhai states, “The Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation undertakes the task of felling dry trees after marking such trees identified jointly by officials of the forest corporation and forest department. Number of pine, oak, rhododendron, Kail, Mureda, Mauru and Deodar trees are lying fallen in the forests. In the year 1994-95 during the Statehood movement, the forest mafia had decimated trees. At that time, about 500 trucks transported such timber from the
Bhagirathi, Tons, Yamuna and other forest divisions located in the Uttarkashi district. The local residents under the Raksha Sutra movement had stalled such activities at various places at the time. The marking of such trees by the forest department is also certified by the Gram Pradhans and Pramukhs of villages near the forest range in question.
If the Gram Pradhan signs his/her approval without checking the trees marked dry, it becomes difficult to stop the illegal felling of green trees. On the occasion of world environment day, it is all the more important to alert residents of villages near forests so as to prevent green felling under the guise of removing the dry trees lying on the ground.
The forest department should also facilitate a joint survey of the dried out trees with the social and environmental activists in the area concerned. If there is carelessness in this, the Chipko or Raksha Sutra movements may be revived by the people against the forest corporation’s practice of felling jungles for sale,” stressed Suresh Bhai.