In the case of the 150 green trees allegedly felled illegally at Dhak in the Painkhanda area of Chamoli district, officials of the forest department have been directed to present maps and documents related to the land in question within a week’s time. This decision was taken in meeting attended by the sub divisional magistrate, forest department officials, NTPC officials and villagers of Dhak.
With the purported felling of more than 100 green trees of various species including oak and pine dominating the public dialogue in the region, the Joshimath Sub Divisional Magistrate Yogendra Singh presided over a meeting attended by representatives of the NTPC, the forest department and the residents of Dhak village on Monday. It was decided in this meeting that the officials of the Nanda Devi national park will make available to the local administration, the documents pertaining to the land area where the green trees were reportedly felled illegally. The departmental documents are expected to aid probe into the case and necessary action against those found guilty.
It is pertinent to mention here that the residents of Dhak village in Joshimath development block of Chamoli district have alleged that a few days ago, the company got about 150 green trees including oaks and pines among other species during the night time without taking the villagers into confidence. Following report of the incident, the Sub Divisional Magistrate made a visit to the site in question and acknowledged signs of trees having been axed at the said place. On Monday, the SDM Yogendra Singh held a meeting in the Joshimath Tehsil hall with officials of the company, forest department and the residents of Dhak village. Sources state that in absence of any concrete document with the forest department officials regarding the land in question, the departmental officials were directed to present the said land related documents within a one-week period. It is worth mentioning here that the land on which the 150 green trees were reportedly felled, is the very land for which the Nanda Devi national park officials had felicitated the villagers in 2009-10 with a certificate which also raises questions at the role of some officials of the forest department. The residents of Dhak village and others are questioning the point in felicitating villagers for a particular tree plantation only to axe the very same trees some years later.