2 officials suspended over illegal tree felling

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 2

In a case of rampant felling of khair trees in the Purkhali area of Ropar district, the Forest Department has suspended forester Bhupinder Singh and forest guard Mohinder Singh.

The matter was reported by The Tribune, following which the department conducted a probe and suspended the two officials. In his orders, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Saurabh Gupta, pointed out that the officials were allegedly involved in illicit felling in several forest pockets.

The initial probe has indicated that in a cluster of villages, comprising Kakot Majri, Hirdapur and Bardar, 200 to 250 trees were axed illegally. Locals, however, put the count of trees at 500.

Officials admit that since January, permits have been given to fell nearly 5,000 khair trees under the forest management plan. But under the garb of these permits, illicit felling has taken place.

Initially, the department had stopped two annual increments of the two officials, besides transferring them. The CCF (Hills) has now revoked that punishment and ordered their suspension.

The erring officials claimed that three FIRs of theft of trees had been lodged against persons, who had now turned complainants in the case. The department had recovered Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 3 lakh as penalty from the erring persons.

Under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900 — the legislation which governs selective felling of mature trees under the forest management plan in privately owned forest areas — changing the nature of land and felling of trees without permission attracts the provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.