The Ranchi Division of Forest department seized a 407 truck (no - JH-01A-7492) loaded with 70 logs of illegal sal wood today near Booty More min the wee hours. The department acted on a secret information and seized the vehicle which was coming from an undisclosed location in Khunti or Porahat (Chaibasa).
The driver and the co-driver managed to escape before they could be arrested. An FIR has been lodged and further investigation is going on.
Significantly, this is the sixth successful operation conducted by the forest department in last one month. “I won’t say that the illegal trade has completely stopped but certainly the trade has come to its minimum,” said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Rajeev lochan Bakshi.
The DFO indicated a pattern in the illegal trade and said timber is transported out of the State through interior roads. “This is an organised crime but we are trying to fight it out,” added Bakshi.
The forest department seized around three vehicles and timber worth Rs 20 lakh in the raids conducted at different points of time in last one month. The officials also conducted as many as 25 checking to curb the trade.
“The raids are conducted following a tip off however all raids do not lead to desired result,” said Bakshi adding “sometimes the tip-off is used to divert focus to aid the smugglers.” Significantly, the forest department has decided to bolster its network and strength to bring the illegal trade further down. “In the State CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) meeting we will propose a slew of measures to increase our strength,” added Bakshi.
The forest department is likely to put a slew of proposals for consideration in the upcoming meeting of State CAMPA scheduled to be held on June 1. The proposals will include recruiting home guards, hiring retired army men and developing network system on the lines of Police.
Incidentally, the DFO dismissed the perception that most of the timber trades in Jharkhand is illegal and said, “Common perception is that around 90 percent of timber trade in the State is illegal however contrary to the notion majority of the trade is legal.”
The team which conducted today’s raid included, ACF Parmesh Agarwal, Mahilong Range officer Suresh Toppo and Forest Guard Kameshwar Prasad.