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| Compartments 52, 53 suffer massive damages due to excavation | | Stone crusher operates inside Samba forest | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, June 7: The Forest Department is virtually caught in deep slumber as a stone crusher has been causing massive damages to the Forest Compartment number 52 and 53 for the past many months.
According to details available with Early Times the stone crusher is carrying out extensive mining of the forest area to meet the requirements.
Along Purmandal road, just one kilometres ahead of Mandal, there is Soda Jaswal area within the Forest Compartment number 52 of the Forest department in which a stone crusher has been operating for the past many months.
“The stone crusher operator had purchased only a few kanals of land from another villager while many portions of the forest land were encroached by the operator for other requirements such as parking of vehicles, dumping of raw material, waste etc.,” sources said, adding that as the stone crusher was just a few yards outside the forest compartment but to collect raw material, it has been involved in mining of raw material from the forest compartments.
“An area of around one kilometre in radius has been damaged by the stone crusher operator. Moreover the boundary wires, poles of the Forest Department to demarcate the compartment number 52 and 53 have also been uprooted to expand the excavation area by the crusher operator”, sources said, adding that apart from causing extensive damages to the compartment number 52, the compartment number 53 was also under assault of mining for the last few months.
Moreover, as per the Geo-coordinates location 32° 38’33”N 75°02’23”E. 463, Soda Jaswal of Purmandal Range, gives the clear evidence of stone crusher located just inside the forest, while green cover could also be found visible, along with vehicles, machinery, earth movers, along with heaps of raw material and building material.
Sources further said that the Forest Department officials and some field officers have a very “lenient attitude” towards the stone crusher operator due to the reasons best known to them.
“During the tenure of former forest minister, the stone crusher was closed but that too merely for 15 days and due to strong influence, it restarted the operations and started damaging the forest land”, sources said, adding that pits dig around over 20-30 metres have been created by the excavation but Forest Department officials have deliberately turned a blind eye towards the extensive damages.
Divisional Forest Officer Samba Somdutt Khajuria didn’t pick up his phone despite repeated calls. However the Conservator of Forests Jammu East Circle Samuel Chamkija said that he would look into the matter and take proper action.
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