User talk:Jp dabral

TIMBER MAFIA OPERATIONS EXPOSED. GOVERNMENT OF UTTARAKHAND FILES ADDITIONAL AFFIDAVIT IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA ADMITTING MISUSE OF HAK HAKOOK. CEC SAYS PCCF’S GUIDELINES INADEQUATE. ASKS PETITIONER TO RECOMMEND.

A major forest scam has been unearthed. The timber mafia is cutting thousands of trees in the forests of Uttarakhand after obtaining permissions from forest officials in the pretext of ‘Hak Hakook’ (wood for traditional usages of villagers). The smugglers cut many more trees than the sanctioned number. The trees sanctioned for cutting are far away from the villages making it unviable for the villagers to transport the wood to their villages. All the wood is cut in marketable sizes and sold in the black market. The beneficiaries on whose name the sanctions for cutting trees are granted have no clue of what is happening in their names. Applications on their behalf are made by village pradhans to the Forest officials. The pradhans get paid a paltry amount for this application. After sanctioning the application is given to the timber mafia who cut the trees and sells the wood in the market.

This scam was exposed through PILs in Supreme Court filed by JP Dabral of Himalayan Chipko Foundation which highlighted the misuse of Hak Hakook system in several villages in Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal and Rudraprayag districts of Uttarakhand. Supreme Court ordered State of Uttarakhand and Ministry of Environment & Forests to enquire into the complaints. State of Uttarakhand got enquiries conducted by the Rangers, DFOs, two Conservators of Forests and Addl. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. All these enquiries denied any illegal cutting of trees and accused the petitioner of maligning the officials in the Supreme Court.

The report submitted by Ministry of Environment & Forest corroborated all the facts of the petition and even mentioned that the cover-up operations of the officials of Forest Department were made after the complaint was filed in Supreme Court. None of the officials of Uttarakhand visited the actual site of the tree felling. They only saw the area from the road whereas most of the felled trees were located at a distance away from the road.

The cut trees could not have been for the use of the villagers because it is unviable to transport the same to the villages which are nearly 80km away. The rules for transit and transportation of wood are very cumbersome and it is difficult for the poor and simple villagers to get the permission easily.

The Forest Department filed affidavits denying the misuse of Hak Hakook or illegal felling of trees. However after the submission of the report of Ministry of Environment & Forest highlighting the corruption and misuse of Hak Hakook, Forest Department, Uttarakhand have filed another affidavit in which they have admitted that there has been misuse of Hak Hakook and issued guidelines made by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) to stop further misuse of the system.

The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of Supreme Court was not satisfied with the new affidavit of Government of Uttarakhand because it did not ensure transparency in the system and was devoid of accountability of the officials. It has now asked the petitioner to give his recommendation so that the lacunae in the guidelines made by PCCF Uttarakhand are overcome. The CEC has also assured the petitioner that apart from making the guidelines to prevent future misuse of the system they shall also look into the issue of violation of Forest laws and punishment of the officials.

For more details contact jp_dabral@indiatimes.com