The famous 127 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army), the first Eco Task Force (ETF) raised in the world, today (December 1) celebrates 31 years of its existence which changed the face of many a degraded site in the hills of Uttarakhand.
Affiliated to the Garhwal Rifles, this battalion of 'Green Soldiers' was raised on December 1, 1982 at the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre at lansdowne on the advice given by renowned Agriculture Scientist Norman Borlough to late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The war cry of the Garhwal Rifles is Jai Badri Vishal and its goal is to 'Green Uttarakhand'. The Battalion, the pride of the hill State, has performed a virtual miracle as far as reviving hills and forests of Mussoorie is concerned.
Ravaged by decades of limestone mining, Mussoorie became entirely barren in the eighties. After the Supreme Court order putting an end to the mining, the ETF was brought in to 'regreen' the area which they succeeded doing in a grand manner. The transformation is there for all to see. After having rejuvenated a dying Mussooorie with their Herculean efforts, the task force began working on greening the Aglar Watershed region in the Tehri district, 90 kilometres away from the Doon valley and beyond Mussoorie. Villages of the area are amazed to see the tree cover, especially the fruit trees.
After planting in one sector, the ETF retains control for nearly three years to ensure that the trees grow strong before handing it over to the local people or forest department. The project began around 1994 and will culminate in 2014. Trees planted at Aglar include Kinnow, lemon and Chullu (apricot).The force will carry out plantations in 400 hectares every year till the end of 2014.
Uttarakhand has one more battalion,130 (Infantry Battalion) TA at Pithoragarh in Kumaon. It is affiliated to the Kumaon Regiment. All ETF men are ex-servicemen belonging to the area. The officers, however, are serving Infantry officers on deputation to the TA.The Eco Task Force is not only helping in environment conservation, but is also enhancing the potential of tourism as tourists would not like to visit scarred mountain destinations as Mussoorie had once become, in the eighties.
The Eco Task Force not only plants saplings but grows trees for fruit, fire and fodder for villagers. These Green Warriors also conduct public awareness programmes, interacting with schoolchildren and inspiring them to do their bit towards preserving the ecological wealth of the region.
The Force is a source of employment for locals who retire from the Army and have limited job options after that. The force has proved to be of enormous benefit to these ex-servicemen.The 127 Infantry battalion (TA) ETF has been honoured with the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar, Doon Ratna and Vasudha Mitra puraskar. It is now reviving the ancient 'Badri Van' (Badri Forest) near the famous Badrinath Shrine in Uttarakhand. The ETF men started a pilot project in Badrinath in the year 2004. The pilot ended in 2007. This project is underway now and envisages planting of Bhojpatra, Belpatra, Surahi, walnut, almond and deodar trees, all mentioned in ancient scriptures as part of the Badri Van which existed behind the famous shrine in the Garhwal Himalayas.
'Badri' means 'Berry' and it is believed that the area had an abundance of 'berry' trees at one time from which it got its name.A 'double blessing scheme' has been launched by the ETF at Badrinath. After paying homage at the shrine, the pilgrims can get blessed again by planting trees to mark important days of their lives like birthdays, marriage anniversaries and birthdays of their loved ones.
They can later come back and see these trees on which a board will be placed with their name, date and occasion mentioned on it. The Badrinath and Mana project of ETF will carry on for the next seven years. For four years more, they will carry on plantation work and for the last three years, they will look after the forests.
At 10,000 feet, the village of Mana, four kilometers from Badrinath, had negligible vegetation before the green warriors took over. It is the last village on Indo-Tibet border and is inhabited by the Indo-Mongolian tribe. Uttarakhand now has eight companies of the ETF, thanks to the efforts of former Chief Minister BC Khanduri. Till about five years ago, the State had only two green battalions.
Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam are the only other States, besides Uttarakhand, which have the presence of the ETF. Four new companies of the Territorial Army (Eco Taskforce) were set up by the government in Uttarakhand a few years ago. Now, each battalion (Garhwal and Kumaon) have two more companies and provide employment to 430 ex-servicemen in the State. The 130 Infantry Battalion was raised in Pithoragarh in 1994.