A report generated by a group of forest officials in Haryana has validated the unlawful logging of 1,148 khair trees (acacia catechu) within the Asarewali protected forest, which is part of a wildlife sanctuary located in the Panchkula district.<\/p>\n
This incident involved the removal of 60 mature trees. In response to these findings, the government has pledged to implement stringent disciplinary measures and initiate a First Information Report (FIR) against the officials implicated in the wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
The forest department established a four-member inquiry committee in February, which presented its findings on March 6. The report outlined the extent of the illegal logging and recommended actions against officers, officials, private citizens, and anyone else implicated in the felling, procurement, storage, transportation, and sale of khair timber.<\/p>\n
The investigation revealed that the felled trees varied in stump diameters from 16 to 50 cm, with a notable portion being extremely old and exhibiting signs of decay and algal presence.<\/p>\n
The cutting of trees was notably selective, with khair constituting 99.9 percent of the harvested trees, suggesting a clear financial incentive behind the actions. The committee noticed efforts to disguise the illegal activity by covering stumps with sand and rocks. Additionally, fresh axe marks on remaining trees indicated that the logging operation was still in progress when the inquiry was initiated. The report concluded that mechanized equipment had been utilized for the extensive logging, along with attempts to hide evidence of the crime.<\/p>\n
On March 27, the additional chief secretary of the forest department communicated with the chief wildlife warden, asserting that such extensive illegal logging could not have occurred without the complicity of field personnel. The correspondence pointed out the shortcomings of supervisory officials, including an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, and mandated strict penalties for those responsible. It also called for the filing of an FIR in accordance with the Wildlife Protection Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.<\/p>\n
The logging took place in a designated wildlife sanctuary under the Wildlife Protection Act, highlighting the serious nature of this infraction.<\/p>\n
This incident has also led to a jurisdictional conflict between Haryana\u2019s top two IFS officers, Vineet Kumar Garg and Vivek Saxena, regarding a broader investigation. The situation ultimately resulted in both officials being relieved of their duties. The government subsequently appointed K C Meena, a 1991-batch officer, to lead the forest force, while Navdeep Singh Hooda, a 1993-batch officer, was named the chief wildlife warden.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the forest department has reinforced its wildlife division by deploying additional personnel and installing surveillance cameras near Aasrewali village, which borders the sanctuary.<\/p>\n
Sukhbir Siwach’s comprehensive coverage of the farmer protests against three agricultural laws during 2020-21 garnered significant attention.<\/p>\n
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A report generated by a group of forest officials in Haryana has validated the unlawful logging of 1,148 khair trees (acacia catechu) within the Asarewali protected forest, which is part of a wildlife sanctuary located in the Panchkula district. This incident involved the removal of 60 mature trees. In response to these findings, the government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2897,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[77,78,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-chandigarh","category-in-cities","category-india"],"yoast_head":"\n