No illegal felling, floating logs due to rain disaster, Himachal tells SC

Over a month after the Supreme Court flagged alleged illegal felling of trees after videos of wooden logs floating in floodwaters went viral, the Himachal Pradesh Government has attributed it to sudden heavy rainfall, cloudbursts, landslides and glacier movement leading to extensive flooding.

In an affidavit filed in the top court earlier this month, Additional Chief Secretary (Forests) Kamlesh Kumar Pant said “that such incidents resulted in large-scale uprooting of trees, which were carried downstream as driftwood and accumulated along riverbanks.”

The affidavit denied that the timber logs seen floating in floodwaters were from trees felled uphill in the catchment areas of the Ravi and the Beas.

Maintaining that “one cannot rule out stray and isolated cases of illegal felling in the region”, the state government sought to emphasise that the “state Forest Department took immediate legal action against the violators as per existing Acts, rules and regulations”.

Taking note of videos of timber logs floating in floodwaters, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai had on September 4 issued notices to the Centre, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttarakhand and others over alleged illegal felling of trees in the Himalayan region.

"We have seen unprecedented landslides and floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. From media reports, it is also noticed that in the flood, huge numbers of wooden logs were flowing along. Prima facie, it appears that there has been illegal felling of the trees which has been going on…," the Bench had said.

While hearing a PIL filed by environmentalist and Panchkula resident Anamika Rana highlighting environmental degradation in the Himalayan region, the CJI had on September 4 termed it “a very serious matter” and requested Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ask the Union Environment Secretary to talk to chief secretaries of the states concerned to find out the truth.

However, the Himachal Pradesh Government submitted that “the viral videos showing large wood logs during floods due to a cloudburst must be interpreted through the lens of natural forest dynamics and disaster science. Such wood debris primarily consists of naturally fallen, decaying trees mobilised by the force of floodwaters, not illegal felling. It is imperative for the social media influencers to understand the ecological role and impact of natural disasters.”

The state Forest Department formed two committees under the chairmanship of respective Conservator of Forest for Chamba and Kullu Forest Circle to look into the matter and multiple field inspections and committee reports did not find any evidence of illegal felling or organised timber extraction, the affidavit stated.

The Forest Department officials counted the number of logs at 177 in Chamba region, it said. “The presence of large quantities of logs in rivers after cloudbursts is a globally observed, scientifically explained natural process arising from slope failures, erosion and re-mobilisation of old wood deposits.”

It said, “The wood found in rivers and reservoirs consist predominantly of uprooted trees, driftwood, rotten logs, lops, tops and biomass debris of low or no commercial value. This position is further supported by the testimony of local communities, panchayat representatives, photographic and video-graphic evidence. Both the inquiries indicate there has not been any large scale or organised illegal felling as alleged in the area.”

Stating that in some cases it “proactively initiated inquiry” in July this year even before the top court took cognisance of the matter, the state government urged the Bench to dispose of the matter.

The petitioner’s counsel had earlier said there were 14 tunnels between Chandigarh and Manali, which become near death traps during landslides caused by heavy rains. Citing a media report, he said 300 people had got stranded in the tunnel.

Besides the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand and UT of Jammu and Kashmir, the top court also issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, National Disaster Management Authority, National Highway Authority of India.

Rana has sought guidelines to prevent ecological disasters in the Himalayan region in view of recurring landslides, cloudbursts and flashfloods in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Punjab, which have caused loss of life and property. The PIL also sought formation of a special investigation team of experts to find out the reasons for such disasters and to determine how to preserve the delicate ecology of the Himalayan states.