Forest fires: 3 FIRs in Dalhousie division

Naresh Thakur

Chamba, June 2

To curb the increasing incidents of forest fires, the Dalhousie Forest Division in Chamba district has initiated action against offenders. The district experienced 64 forest fire incidents this summer till Sunday, affecting 563 hectares of land. Most fires have been reported from the Dalhousie Forest Division, which has a high concentration of Chir Pine forests.

Rajneesh Mahajan, Divisional Forest Officer, Dalhousie, said three FIRs have been registered in the past two days. Two FIRs are against individuals, while unidentified villagers have been booked in the third case. An FIR was lodged at Dalhousie Police Station against an individual responsible for igniting a fire in the Sherpur forest, which destroyed a plantation maintained by the Village Forest Management Committee, resulting in a financial loss of Rs 2.11 lakh.

Another FIR was registered at Bakloh police post against unknown villagers for setting the Rauni forest ablaze, destroying 7 hectares of plantation. Besides, four show-cause notices have been issued under the Forest (Protection from Fires) Rules, 1999.

Setting forest on fire is a punishable offence with 2 years of jail or Rs 5,000 fine or both.

“Most of forest fire incidents are caused by human activities, either accidentally or intentionally. People often burn weeds in their farms, which many a time spread to nearby forests, destroying invaluable flora and fauna,” Mahajan said.

According to the Forest (Protection from Fires) Rules, it is mandatory to seek prior permission from the forest authorities before lighting a fire within 100 metre radius of a forest, a regulation frequently ignored by locals.

The Forest Department employs a multi-pronged strategy to check the fire incidents, focusing on awareness, prevention and deterrence. Continuous awareness programmes involve students and local community, educating them on the importance of forests and fire prevention methods. Preventive measures include removing inflammable materials from forests, constructing check dams with pine needles and controlled burning. As a deterrent, the Department has intensified the lodging of FIRs and issuing notices. “Besides, we also suspend forest rights and privileges of people who cause fires,” Mahajan said.

According to data, the state has recorded 1,290 fire incidents across its 12 Forest Circles this summer, affecting 12,318 hectares of land and resulting in monetary losses of Rs 4.48 crore. A maximum 331 fire incidents have been reported in Dharamsala circle.