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| In 5 years 66 sq km forests gone | | No lessons yet, as Rs 5 lakhs available against Rs 1Cr | |
SALMAN IMTIYAZ NIZAMI
Jammu, April 26: Jammu and Kashmir is rapidly losing its forest wealth to summer fires, there is a plan for prevention but money is coming in the way.
Unbelievable it may sound, but it is a stark reality that state Government has not been considering obligatory on its past to tackle forest fires which have been destroying green gold in several hundred hectares of forest land with every passing year. Due to non seriousness of the government not only the plunder of the forest wealth has been going on unbated but the ecological balance of the state is also getting disturbed and heading the Jammu and Kashmir towards adverse climatic change.
Official sources told Early Times during the past several years the incidents of forest fires have been increasing rapidly and about 66 square kilometers of forest area was gutted during the past three years only.
From 2008 upto March 2009, around 621 fire incidents took place across the state involving a total forest area of 2900 hectares and this figure was the highest during the past five years, the sources disclosed and said that despite such an alarming situation vis-à-vis incidents of forest fires the government has not felt it necessary to initiate proper measures to check the same.
Although the situation warranted that the government should open up its coffers to adequately equip the forest department so that the fires are controlled before they spread tentacles and effective fire control measures are taken, however the government preferred to provide peanuts when crores of rupees are required to cope with the situation and bring down the incidents of forest fires.
They disclosed that as against the requirement of Rs One crore per annum to tackle increasing forest fire incidents in 200,600 square kilometers of forests ( 12643 square kilometers in Jammu region and remaining region in Kashmir region), the government has been providing only peanuts in the shape of Rs 5 Lakhs per annum to the forest department.
“This meager financial assistance to protect the green gold of the state is not sufficient even for some compartments”, they regretted, adding “this assistance itself exposes the seriousness of the government towards protecting the forests from being ruined”.
In the absence of adequate financial support, the fire lines which are required to be created and maintained properly to prevent spread of forest fires, are not being created even in the major fire prone areas in Jammu, Doda, Kishtwar, Bhaderwah,Ramban, Banihal, Rajouri and Poonch. “Moreover, majourity of these forests areas lack watch towers, fire fighting equipment and above all adequate manpower”, the sources said.
When contacted Principal Chief Conservator forests ( PCCF) Abhey Kumar confirmed that very meager amount is being earmarked to equip the department suitably to check and timely tackle forest fires. “ We are facing acute shortage of fire watchers, guards and other equipment of fire necessity”, he added. “ We have taken up the matter with the Finance department a number of times but nothing concrete has come out sofar ”,he said, adding “ in the absence of adequate financial assistance and manpower it is difficult or rather impossible to tackle the increasing forest fire”.
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