Timber mafia busted in Uttrakhand forest

In a ten-day search and seizure operation, the Uttarakhand Forest Department reportedly recovered over 4,000 logs of the finest quality from ancient Deodar and Kail trees in the Chakrata forest division. About 150 forest workers were part in the raid, and officials said that they also discovered environmental violations perpetrated by the "Timber Mafia" over the years.

Two government schools, a panchayat building, a public water tank, residential house toilets and even some that were hidden underground all had illicit timber that was found. The people resisted the forest crews and made attempts to restrict their freedom of movement, making it difficult for them to collect the timber on a large scale.

Prima facie, according to the forest officers participating in the operation, it looks that illegal tree cutting in the area has been going on for years but has strangely gone undiscovered.

Operation started in mid-July

According to Chakrata forest division officials, their operation started in mid-July when they got a tip regarding unlawful tree cutting in the Kanasar forest region. Following the confirmation of the top-secret information, the 150-person forest teams launched a 10-day search operation in and around the villages of Binson and Mashak.

The Indian Forest (Uttaranchal Amendment) Act, 2001, was the subject of a case that the forest department filed on Saturday and served notice on 21 individuals.

These people included Surjan Singh, Keshar Singh, Lekh Raj, Bijan Singh, Fakira, Chandiya, Sardar Singh, Sain Singh, Mahabir Singh, Sadhu Singh, Jeet Singh, Surjan Singh, Fateh Singh, Dey Singh (gramme pradhan), Rajesh Negi (assistant development officer, panchayat), and Hari Ram, a resident of Rajanu. They have been ordered to appear before the investigation officer (IO) to give their side of the story within the next seven days, or else legal action would be taken against them in the relevant court.

Six forest employees of the Chakrata forest division's Kansar range have been suspended in the meanwhile. Rangers Mahendra Singh Gusain, Bhagat Rana, and Shivam Gautam, as well as forest beat officers, Ashish Chandra (section officer/van daroga), Pramod Kumar (section officer/van daroga) and Madan Singh (forest guard) on the basis of their “suspicious role” in nexus.

Search and seizure operations for 10 days

Assistant conservator of forests, Mukul Kumar said, “Our teams consisting of around 150 personnel conducted search and seizure operations for 10 days with the assistance of revenue police and recovered over 4,000 logs of Deodar and Kail trees. Many of the logs had turned black. The prima facie evidence suggests that the illegal felling of trees has been going on for years.” He said they have just begun the investigation and kingpins of the organised timber crime could be still roaming free.

He further said, “However, it never came to the knowledge of the forest department, mainly because of the lota-namak” (vessel-salt) old age tradition in which villagers are bound to comply with the instructions of the Sayana. We have also booked one Sayana Fateh Singh of Mashak khat (cluster of villages). We never received any complaint for illegal felling of trees in the region. People hesitate to file complaints due to the old age traditions. The region seems to be very calm as if nothing wrong is going on here. It was only after we searched their houses, we could recover the timber.”

Another instance of illegal tree cutting was reported from Tonnes Forest Division during this time.

An internal inquiry was carried out as a result of allegations in December of last year. Subodh Kumar Kala, a divisional forest officer (DFO), and three other forest rangers were subsequently suspended for illegally felling 108 green trees in lots given to the Forest Corporation.

Head of the forest force Anup Malik said, “All those who committed wrongdoings will face consequences. There has definitely been a lapse on the part of the department. We will also file an FIR against the contractors of the Forest Corporation who illegally cut the trees.”

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