2 fined Rs 1.25 lakh by Forest Dept for illegal felling of khair trees

The Forest Department has recovered five trees that were illegally felled by two persons at Chakban–Bassa forest following a complaint. A penalty of Rs 1.25 lakh has been recovered from the two offenders, besides the logs of the felled trees.

As per information, the Forest Department has recently opened felling of khair trees in Thohra panchayat. Besides felling trees on their private land, the two beneficiaries also chopped off some khair trees in the nearby Chakban forest. A complaint was submitted to the Forest Department authorities of Nurpur Forest Division.

Following the complaint, the Forest Department demarcated the land where the two offenders had felled khair trees. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Nurpur Amit Sharma said after receiving the complaint a field staff team was formed and it demarcated the land where the trees were chopped off.

He said the investigation revealed that five khair trees were felled in the Chakban-Bassa forest area and a damage report was prepared for the loss of forest wealth. The DFO said Rs 1.25 lakh had been recovered from the offenders besides the logs of felled trees. He ruled out any involvement of forest department’s field staff in this illegal activity.