Fire in the forests of Uttarakhand
Expansion
The Supreme Court said that reliance on artificial or seasonal rains is not the solution to control forest fires in Uttarakhand. To deal with this problem, the administration will have to take preventive measures.
The state government informed the top court about the steps taken to control the fire. Said that due to such incidents, 0.1 per cent of the wildlife area in the state has caught fire and not 40 per cent of the area as is being said in media reports. The next hearing in this case will be on May 15. A bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta was hearing an application on Wednesday.
Uttarakhand Deputy Advocate General Jatinder Kumar Sethi submitted a 380-page interim status report to the bench, detailing the measures being taken by the state machinery to deal with the forest fire. It was told that since November last year till now, all 398 incidents of forest fire are human caused. Five people have died in these. 350 criminal cases have been registered and 62 people have been named. Service of Air Force helicopters was also taken to extinguish the fire.
The bench wanted to know how many animals had died in the fire incidents. Regarding the animals, Sethi said that he will take information from the state and inform the court. He also said that it is not that incidents of forest fire are only in Uttarakhand, such news comes all over the world.
Forest fire fighting project pending near the center
It was also said on behalf of the state government that the Uttarakhand Forest Fire Fighting Project 2023-28 is pending with the Central Government. Action is being taken on Uttarakhand Forest Fire Management Plan 2024. It was also said that the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary are personally monitoring the situation closely on a daily basis.
The lawyer said, the situation is very pathetic
The lawyer who had filed the application to be impleaded in the case told the bench that the state government was presenting a very good picture, but media reports claimed that the entire machinery involved in fighting the forest fire was busy in election related work. . The situation is very pathetic. The people who go to extinguish the fire do not even have proper equipment.
There is no denying the seriousness of the problem.
Another lawyer appearing in the case said that the entire forest is covered with pine trees and this is the reason for the fire. On this the bench said that even though the British had brought pine trees, today the country is using them. We cannot eliminate these trees and they cannot be grown in low lying areas also. There is no dispute that wildfires are a serious problem.
Action taken against 17 personnel for negligence
Dehradun. The Forest Department has taken strict action against 17 employees for negligence in controlling the fire. Of these, show cause notices were issued to two, four were attached and 11 have been suspended. Four people have been arrested for setting fire to the forest in Pithoragarh. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami himself is monitoring the situation. He is continuously holding meetings with the officials.
He said that the government is committed to tackling the problem. The fire is being controlled and a lot of difference is being seen in the last two-three days. Since Chardham Yatra is going to start soon, we are trying to control the fire. At the same time, officials said that work is going on continuously to extinguish the fire in Pauri Garhwal. The fire has been brought under control as far as the fire brigade vehicles can reach. Help of local people is also being taken.