Forest plunder continues right next to Chandigarh
Rajmeet Singh & Vicky Gharu
Tribune News Service
Mirzapur (Kurali), August 12
It is 4.50 am as we head to Mirzapur — a Gujjar-dominated village located 9 km from Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and 23 km from the PGI, Chandigarh, that is known for its khair forest.
We intend to find out the veracity of reports of routine, unchecked illegal felling of the costly forest timber in Baru Wala, Simbra and Darian Wala choes (seasonal rivulets) cross-crossing the eco-fragile Shivalik Hills.
Part of the Shivalik range running along the Himachal border, it is a dry deciduous forest and a rich eco-diverse zone that is a natural habitat for wildlife like stags, gorals, wild boars, barking deer and neelgai.
There’s an air of eerie silence as we trek uphill towards the forest after traversing our way through a choe — unaware that we are being tailed.
We had been told how owing to a lack of employment opportunities, the timber mafia was able to actively engage Mirzapur residents in felling khair trees and chopping these into pieces for smuggling.
The wood is bought by the mafia and stocked at a warehouse in Khizrabad, located outside the jurisdiction of the Forest Department. The locals are paid anything between Rs 1,200 and Rs 4,200 per quintal.
Kathha and cutch are extracted from the wood of khair tree. Kathha is widely consumed as an applicant in paan and also has medicinal qualities. Cutch, a byproduct during kathha manufacturing, is used in the tanning industry and as an additive and preservative in many industries.
Under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900 — the legislation which governs selective felling of matured trees under the forest management plan in privately owned forest area — changing the nature of land and felling of trees without permission attracts provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
Violation empowers the forest officials to confiscate the wood and the vehicle being used for transporting, and penalise and lodge an FIR against the accused.
Strangely, the field-level forest officials — the guard, forester, range officer — have seemingly been unable to enforce the rule of law. Incidentally, a departmental inquiry last year into the unregulated large-scale felling in Mirzapur had indicted the field officials. As we begin descending towards the village, a group of 50 locals confront us, anger writ large.
While we are abused and pushed, the leaders among the raging mob ask us about the purpose of the visit and that too, without the permission of the panchayat.
When we try to reason that we are here to verify the reports of felling, some infuriated youngsters force us to hand over our mobile handsets to see whether any pictures have been clicked. Then comes the warning against writing a word. They even threaten to hand us over to the police and forest officials, which is a silly assertion but when you are surrounded by 50 angry men, reason stands little chance. We are held captive and taken to the Mirzapur forest guest house while being put to harsh questioning. Our belongings are searched but they fail to track a pocket camera.
The two-hour impasse ends after we convince the villagers that we would write about the poor condition of roads, lack of job avenues and dismal road connectivity with Baddi.
Later, we come to know that forest teams have been visiting the area to ascertain the damage.
We contact the Conservator of Forests, Shivalik Circle, Mahavir Singh, who says teams are assessing the damage. Let the report be submitted. We have issued the damage reports,” he says.
But why would such activity go unchecked?
