Forest wealth plunder in UT’s backyard

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Purkhali (Ropar), June 20

Just about 25 km from Punjab’s seat of power (Punjab Civil Secretariat), an ecological disaster is taking shape in the backyard of Chandigarh.

Gujjar-dominated Kakot Majri, Hirdapur and Bardar villages are reportedly witnessing rampant felling of khair trees for the past few months. Locals say the count of felled trees was over 500, but officials put the number between 200 and 250. 

Villagers blame it on alleged connivance between timber mafia and forest officials. Instead of facing strict action, forest officials often manage to get away with mild punishment, they say.

Permits to axe around 5,000 khair trees in the area have been given since January. More often than not, these permits are being used to undertake illegal felling, sources say.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Jitendra Sharma said two annual increments of forester Bhupinder Singh and forest guard Mohinder Singh had been stopped on the basis of a probe conducted by the Conservator of Forests (Shivalik circle). They had also been transferred, he added. “We have also deputed a team from another district to counter-check complaints of illegal felling,” he said.

A Tribune team that visited the area noticed illegal felling not only in pockets of forest land mutated in names of individuals, but also in panchayat-owned forest at Kakot Majri village.

“Illegal felling has been going on in Shivalik hills for quite some time now. To downplay the gravity of the situation, damage reports often put the count of felled trees at much lower than the actual figure,” said Jeet Bhumbla, a forest activist from Nada village.

“I have complained about illegal felling in my village, but to no avail,” said Charan Dass of Bardar village. Avtar Singh of Kakot Majri, whose brother has been named in a forest-theft FIR, said he was paying the price for speaking against illegal felling.

Under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900, changing the nature of land and felling of trees without permission attracts provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

Divisional Forest Officer, Ropar, Amit Chauhan said persons named in three FIRs had now turned complainants in cases of illegal felling. “We have recovered Rs 2.5-3 lakh as penalty from the erring persons,” he said. It was, however, impossible to get the exact count of all khair trees in the forest, he maintained.

Alleging large-scale illegal feeling in the kandi area of Ropar district, residents of Bardar and neighbouring villages have also taken up cudgels against the forest mafia.

While villagers allege inaction on part of the Forest Department authorities, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests says strict departmental action has been initiated against two officials.

Khair economics

• Timber obtained from illegally felled trees is smuggled outside jurisdiction of Forest Department with help of locals, who are paid between Rs 1,200 and Rs 4,200 per quintal
• Kathha and cutch are extracted from khair wood; kathha is applied on paan and also has medicinal qualities; cutch is used in the tanning industry