The State Forest and Wildlife Minister, Harak Singh Rawat chaired over a meeting with officials of forest department, Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation and employees of the corporation here on Monday.
He directed the officials that to ensure the traditional rights of villagers who also protect majority of the State’s forest area, the department should get the working plan approved by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change in a time bound manner so that the villagers are able to access their traditional rights while the income of the forest corporation will also be enhanced.
He said that the progress on the working plan should be reviewed on a weekly basis. Stressing on the need for scientific exploitation of rivers for flood control and provision of sand and gravel to the public at fair price, the minister directed that a nodal officer be appointed to advocate the state’s position effectively with the Central Government from time to time. Directing officials to complete the task of detailed survey for quarrying before the start of the quarrying period, he added that proposals should also be prepared for quarrying at sites facing possible flood risk. He said that the forest officers should discharge their duties with sensitivity, adding that general discharge of responsibilities does not ensure that the benefits reach the intended beneficiaries.
On the subject of the demands of the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation employees, Rawat said that the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has also directed that communication should be maintained consistently with all departments’ employees to prevent communication gap between the government and departmental employees.
He directed the corporation’s managing director to submit a proposal to the state administration for bringing the corporation employees under the purview of the seven pay commission. Senior officials of the forest department, corporation and others were also among those present in the meeting.