A plea alleging nexus between timber mafia and officials for the recent fire incidents in Uttarakhand prompted the National Green Tribunal on Friday to restrain the State Government from chopping of trees for construction of road in the State.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said, “We restrain Government of Uttarakhand and the contractors working from cutting and felling any trees from forest land for the purposes of melting the coal tar for laying metalled road in the State of Uttarakhand,” The order came after the State Government failed to file its response on a plea seeking a CBI inquiry to ascertain the reason of forest fires that have raged in the forests, causing severe impact on biodiversity.
The tribunal noted that despite opportunity given for filing response, nothing has been filed by Uttarakhand Government. Further, the administration is also unable to dispute the fact that the trees are being cut and burnt for melting the coal tar for laying road. The matter is will be heard again on August 3.
During the hearing on Friday, the petitioner, referred to a RTI reply filed by Public Works Department which said that wood was being used for melting coal tar during construction and repair of roads in Nainintal and Almora districts of Uttarakhand.
The tribunal was hearing a plea by “NGO Friends” which had alleged that a nexus of timber mafia, some greedy villagers and officials was suspected to be behind the fire incidents which have caused severe loss in Uttarakhand green cover.
In its plea, the NGO had said that an inquiry should be ordered to be conducted by judicial authority to investigate the reason for the fire incidents and the state should be directed to ban the practice of burning of woods for road works. It had alleged that Uttarakhand Government has not taken any “effective step to control the fire” due to which almost the entire hilly area was affected.
The plea had claimed that more than “1300 incidents of forest blaze have taken plan in the present season and more than 2600 hectares of forest area has been ruined” in the State.
The tribunal had earlier on May 4 sought responses of the Environment Ministry and Governments of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh on a separate plea on the issue of forest fires raging in both the States.