Khair felling: Ropar forest staff ‘fail’ to support probe panel

Tribune News Service

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Ropar, September 14

The investigating team formed by the Punjab Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Jatinder Sharma to probe the alleged illegal felling of khair trees in Ropar district seems to have hit a roadblock.

District Forest Department officials, on the pretext of new posting in the area, were found “avoiding” taking the probe panel to the areas supposed to have witnessed the maximum axing of trees.

After frequent reports regarding alleged illegal felling of khair trees and seizure of huge quantity of wood by the police in the district, Jatinder Sharma had formed the four-member committee to investigate the matter. The local field staff members were directed to guide and support them in the investigation.

On Tuesday, when two inspection team members, District Forest Officer (Monitoring and Evaluation) Satinder Singh and District Forest Officer (Training), Hoshiarpur, Anjan Kumar reached the Paharpur village area to detect the illegal felling of trees, they said they had already noticed illegal feeling in the Samlah area.

Soon after the local field staff, including Forest Ranger Gurchet Singh, Forester Ranjodh Singh, Forest Guard Narender Singh and Beldar Sidhu Ram joined them. Interestingly, they did not take the team members to any spot and on the contrary asked them where did the team wanted to go. All of them said they were new to the area and not aware of its topography. Inquiries revealed that Gurchet had joined as ranger in the area nearly three months ago.

The inspection team members asked the field staff to take them to Haarwali. The team had got information from its sources that more than 1,000 trees were axed in the area during the last two months. The field staff took them several kilometers in the opposite side before the inspecting team members realised that they were not moving towards the right direction. On asking, a passerby informed that the team actually was going in the opposite direction.

Both the inspection team members, however, decided to return and finally reached Haarwali by dusk. When asked about the attitude of the field staff, both said it would not be possible to detect the illegal felling by depending upon the local staff members. They would recommend the deployment of field staff from hilly areas of other forest divisions in the state and the checking of forest near each of the village in the area was required to be done in one go, they added.

Improper guidance 

District Forest Department officials, on the pretext of new posting in the area, were found "avoiding" taking the probe panel to the areas supposed to have witnessed the maximum axing of trees.