2,000 trees damaged during SYL filling, says Forest Dept

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 31

The two-day ‘free for all’ to fill the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal took its toll on about 2,000 trees and around 11 hectares of forest land, according to Punjab Forest Department officials.

Senior forest officials confirmed to The Tribune that 1,969 fully-grown trees were felled in the forest area along the SYL canal on March 16 and 17. The districts of Patiala, Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib and SAS Nagar were at the receiving end.

Sources said while the department had counted the loss of trees of pole length, they were yet to account for the shrubs, small trees and bushes that were removed from the forest land.

“There is also no count of the wild animals that were killed during the two-day mayhem along the canal,” they said, adding that some of the trees were over two decades old.

Forest officials had written to their respective deputy commissioners, “urging them to provide security to save damage to the forest area”.

As per records, the area along the canal on both sides is covered under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980; Indian Forest Act, 1927; and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Kuldeep Kumar said he had forwarded the report on the damage to the authorities concerned.

“We will register cases against the miscreants, once they are identified, who damaged trees or tried to steal timber,” said Kuldeep Kumar, adding that in certain districts timely intervention helped save timber from being stolen.

“We will wait for the court orders before we start replanting trees,” said a senior forest official.