Uttarakhand lacks infrastructure to fight forest fires, NGT told

DEHRADUN: National Green Tribunal ( NGT ), in response to a report filed by amicus curiae Gaurav Bansal in the matter of forest fires in Uttarakhand, directed that “Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change be impleaded through principal secretary of environment, principal chief conservator of forest, chief wildlife warden, divisional forest officer of Dehradun and Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun”, and instructed them to submit their comprehensive reply in the matter within three weeks.

NGT had appointed advocate Bansal as amicus curiae in April to assist with proceedings regarding leaf burning in Badkot forest range along RishikeshDehradun road. While submitting his report, Bansal emphasised that Uttarakhand suffers from a “glaring lack of essential infrastructure required for efficient forest fire management .”

The report, furnished last week, stated “it was imperative to address critical deficiencies and violations hindering effective forest fire management in state.” “This encompasses a lack of firefighting equipment such as protective goggles, protective gear, weapons, etc, insufficient patrolling vehicles to access remote areas, and a dearth of communication devices such as wireless and satellite phones essential for coordination and timely response during fire emergencies,” it stated.
The report highlighted that forest department was facing infrastructure challenges , including a shortage of new structures to meet increasing demands. The forest guard or forester chowkis being situated in remote areas, devoid of basic amenities, also poses a critical hurdle.

Bansal said “ construction and maintenance of fire lines is fundamental for effective fire management but Uttarakhand govt has not reviewed its fire lines for a considerable period, compromising the state’s fire management endeavours.”

The report said for every 2,448 hectareforest, there was only one forest guard, who is also responsible for controlling illicit tree felling, mining, wildlife poaching, and other forest and wildliferelated offences. “What exacerbates the situation is that in Uttarakhand, there is a system of recovery for loss of revenue due to illicit felling from salary of forest guards or foresters. Safeguarding by sole forest guard is nothing but an unattainable task,” it stated. This year, Uttarakhand recorded a significant number of forest fires, with 1,276 cases reported, impacting 1,771.6 ha, as per govt data.