Stressing that any point raised by the Forest and Wildlife minister Harak Singh Rawat is an important concern for the department, PCCF Jai Raj said that there was no anomaly in the recent foreign visit of department officials including himself. He also said that regarding the Chillarkhal-Laldhang motor road, the department had ascertained that the objection raised earlier by the divisional forest officer was not applicable in this case.
The PCCF said that the Zoological Society of London had borne the expenses of six officials from Uttarakhand forest department who had attended a meeting in London recently. The visit enabled officials to learn of latest global developments and trends in zoo design and related aspects which would be applied to the international zoo being developed at Haldwani at a cost of Rs 300 crore. He said that permission from the state government to attend the meeting in London was akin to an order to do so. Further, this visit did not affect the department’s actions regarding forest fires in any way, he stressed.
Regarding the Chillarkhal-Laldhang motor road, he said that the divisional forest officer concerned had in good faith recommended stalling of work on the road citing section 38 of the Wildlife Protection Act. However, departmental officials later reviewed the case and ascertained that the work would not threaten the wildlife or environment as it was being undertaken in a sustainable manner.