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Echo of felling trees in Rajasthan House

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, FEB. 15. The Opposition Congress members in the Rajasthan Assembly today expressed concern over the unrelenting practice of felling of trees in the reserved forest areas in the State, saying that it had led to loss of forest cover and made an adverse impact on the wildlife even in the protected sanctuaries. The members demanded strict implementation of laws for conservation of forests.

The issue came up during the question hour when the Congress MLA, Zubair Khan, sought to know the details of the measures taken to stop illegal felling of trees and pointed out that the villagers living around the reserved forest areas often took advantage of the permission to collect dry fuel wood by felling the trees and leaving them to become dry.

"This practice has led to a pathetic state of affairs of the wildlife besides destroying forests. The mighty tiger is today missing from the Sariska wildlife sanctuary leaving our wildlife experts and forest officials bewildered,'' Mr. Khan said while demanding that the permission for collection of fuel wood be withdrawn forthwith.

Daljeet Singh and Raghuveer Singh Meena (both Congress) pointed out that the villagers were forced to venture inside dense forests to collect wood because there was no alternative arrangement for them in the shape of wood depots or storehouses.

The Minister for Forest and Environment, Laxminarain Dave, admitted that illegal felling of trees and mining were frequently reported both in the reserved forest regions and the protected wildlife areas. He said punitive action under Sections 26 and 33 of the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953, was launched without delay in such cases and all steps taken to prevent their recurrence. Mr. Dave said as many as 22 task forces were functioning across the State for monitoring the forest protection works and taking prompt action whenever a report of illegal felling of trees was received. He assured the House that a special task force for the Sariska sanctuary would be appointed shortly.

Providing details of action taken during the last year, the Minister pointed out that 8,334 cases of felling of trees were registered till September 30, 2004, and 3,550 of them decided with a penalty of Rs. 20.40 lakhs imposed on offenders. "While the minor offences are settled with the imposition of fine, all major cases are taken to courts and criminal proceedings launched,'' he said.

Mr. Dave said nearly 3,900 joint forest management committees were functioning all over the State to generate awareness about forest conservation in the society at large and render help in preventing unlawful felling of trees. He said he had himself visited Jamua Ramgarh and Bharatpur on receiving complaints recently and ensured that the forest wealth was protected.

Amra Ram (CPI-M) drew the Minister's attention to the "wrongful'' imposition of fine by forest officials in the Shekhawati region on the farmers who cut the wood in their own farms and take it to the nearby towns for sale.

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Echo of felling trees in Rajasthan House

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