Following concern raised by environmentalists on the impact of providing 25 acre forest land to the Border Security Force (BSF) for establishing the set up for one of its battalions in lacchiwala range of Dehradun forest division, the officials concerned have agreed to look for other options and provide forest land as a last resort.
This was decided at a recent meeting attended by officials of the Forest Department, BSF and environmentalists.
According to Citizens for Green Doon (CFGD) chief coordinator Dr Nitin Pandey, last year forest land was marked for the BSF in lacchiwala sector one, but concerns were raised about this as the area is part of an elephant corridor. "This year, 25 acres of forest land in lacchiwala sector two was marked for the BSF.
This area has at least 800 trees and is not far from the route used by elephants. As construction on this land would cause a rise in human-wildlife conflict, we sought a meeting with the Dehradun district magistrate thrice, but we were told he was busy.
Recently, a meeting was attended by Dehradun divisional forest officer Sushant Patnaik, 11th battalion BSF deputy commandant Manoj Painuli, Animal Welfare Board of India co-opted member Gauri Maulekhi and CFGD members.
The role of BSF in last year's disaster in Uttarakhand was appreciated and the move to set up its two battalions in Uttarakhand was welcomed," said Pandey.
"A broad consensus was reached on various points. Transfer of forest land, if any, will be linked to the clearance from the District authorities to start construction on the 25 acres of Gram Sabha land, which is required in addition to the 20 acres of land already with the BSF.
The land has been given to BSF on the condition that no construction will be allowed till the status of the land, with respect to the Uttarakhand High Court ruling on the subject of construction along river banks, has been clarified.
Transfer of forest land will be the last resort after all efforts to acquire other revenue / private land are exhausted and the DFO has assured us that in case of forest land being used, stress will be laid on minimizing the number of trees to be axed. The DFO will also meet the district magistrate to discuss the possibilities," said Pandey.