Threat to ecology in Kufri, NGT panel to assess damage
Shimla, March 15
Entertaining an application claiming degradation of environment at Kufri, mainly due to a large number of horses, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a four-member committee to apprise it of the factual position at the famous hill station near Shimla.
The committee, comprising the Divisional Forest Officer, Shimla; the Regional Officer, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chandigarh; an official from the State Pollution Control Board and the Shimla District Magistrate, has been directed to visit the site and submit a report within two months.
The plaintiff, in his complaint to the National Green Tribunal, mainly blamed the uncontrolled movement of horses for the damage to flora and fauna in the area. “There are about 700-800 horses in and around Kufri, which is at the edge of a forest reserve. The owners let these horses into the forest after the day’s work, which has damaged beautiful forest trails and tree roots,” the complainant alleged. “One can see naked tree roots, drying trees and shrubs with heaps of stinking horse dung all over the area,” the complainant said.
The complainant has also accused the authorities concerned of turning a blind eye to the damage being caused to the adjoining forest. “A patch of forest about a km away from Kufri on the Chail-Kufri road has been damaged by the horse owners by making an illegal road using a JCB machine. The authorities, however, have not taken note of it,” the complainant alleged. Incidentally, in 2016, the Himachal Pradesh High Court had also taken up this issue as PIL on the basis a letter written by a Kufri resident to the then Chief Justice of the High Court.
Meanwhile, the residents feel that the committee should talk to them and all stakeholders involved in tourism activities as and when it visits the site to prepare its report. The residents feel that it would bring out the real picture and help in arriving at a sustainable long-term solution to save the environment and livelihood of the people.
