Our State is rich in forest wealth. This is a big gift of the nature. It is the climatic conditions, topography and the soil all combined together to make our State forests rich. The species of trees that grow in our forests are among the finest woods in the world. Consequently, forests are our biggest asset. It is simple logic that this immensely valuable wealth needs to be protected and promoted because it is of vital importance to the ecology of our State. We have a very elaborate Forest Department from the times of the rule of Maharajas. The fact is that during the reign of Maharaja Pratap Singh and Maharaja Hari Singh, British forest experts were inducted into state forest service and they made very valuable contribution in the management of our forest wealth. The structure of the Forest Department was initially laid out by them. Then our own forest experts made further improvement in the management of forests.
Realising the significance of forests to the economy, environment, and well being of the people, it was decided to open the Social Forestry branch that would essentially cater to two purposes. One was of preserving the forests from timber mafia and land grabbers and the second was to promote forestry by planting millions of new plants and raising new forest covers and stretches. The Department of Social Forestry has contributed to the growth of new forest stretches in order to make good the losses that happen owing to natural disaster or the trees coming of age or through the wanton destruction of forest wealth by selfish timber mafia.
However, in order to ensure foolproof protection of forests, the Government introduced another scheme of creating the Forest Protection Force. It is just like the Railway Protection Force. This force is given specific ranges where they have to enforce protection of forest wealth against the timber mafia and their local associates. It has to be remembered that the cost of timber used in house construction has increased manifold and the timber has become a very expensive commodity which can fetch a good deal of money when brought to towns and cities clandestinely. In this forest mafia so many people including the functionaries of the Forest Department are involved. It was this compulsion for the Government to create the Forest Protection Force. Government has pinned great hopes with this force to be the guardians of this heaven sent wealth of the State.
The Minister for Forest, Ecology & Environment has focused on the role of the Forest Protection Force (FPF) as an organization which has a vital role in preserving and protecting this national wealth. It is right that some innovative suggestions should come for the FPF based on its experience of how the forest wealth can be protected more efficiently against the depredation of timber mafia and land grabbers. Hundreds of thousands of kanals of forest land has been grabbed illegally and it has become a vast and powerful mafia with clouts among the politicians and the official machinery. More often than not, nexus is developed between the land mafia and the revenue officials. Combined they have created a super class of rich and affluent people who are powerful enough to defy the law of the land. The 5-member panel constituted by the Minister has been assigned the duty of proposing reformative plans that would go a long way to protect and promote our forest wealth. Hopefully this panel will submit its report within a short time and a new strategy will be adopted.
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