news details |
|
|
| Timber smuggling, encroachments continue in Shopian | | Data explodes official claims | | early times report
srinagar, Dec 4: Notwith-standing the claims of the government, jungle smuggling continues unabated in Shopian. The encroachers also mock at the government claims of having cleared forest land from encroa-chments.
The data collected from the District Forest Officer Shopian reveals that 182 hectares of illegally encroached forest land was recovered from the land mafia's in different compartments during the current, while as the total forest land under occupation of land mafia's is 773.32 hectares.
Denying timber smuggling reports, District Forest Officer Shopian, Mohammad Ashraf Katoo said that 73 horses were seized during his tenure and one wanted timber smuggler namely Abdul Rashid Chichi son of shero Chichi of Deepora was booked under public safety act.
The data also shows that Rs 1,80,963 were recovered from different employees of the Forest department who were directly involved in selling the timber to smugglers in different compartments and one employee ranked as Forestor in the department was suspended for his involvement in timber smuggling in Chotipora area.
"For the first time department has succeeded to dismantle some concrete structures constructed in jungle premises in Dobijan area", he said.
In addition to man made devastation, the natural disaster which shook the whole Valley early this year damaged 23,60,806 c.f.ts of timber in different compartments.
The story does not stop here, for the general consumption purposes 1,30,249 c.f.ts of timber was distributed among the people during the ongoing year, while as not a single plant was planted in any compartment since March 2012 to compensate the losses.
The concerned District Forest Officer said that we initially plant some fast growing species in such areas which grow very speedily to provide a soothing environment for real conifer trees to grow later. He also said that Department has issued permission to 50 persons for installing imported timber sale units in District shopping during his tenure to provide an alternative.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
