Centre, State Govts hold joint review meet on forest fires
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 9 May: Participating in a review meeting on forest fire incidents in the state, chaired by the Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi claimed that no new incident of forest fire has occurred in Uttarakhand in the past 24 hours. She informed those present that the incidents of forest fire have been continuously decreasing over the last two days. She added that, in all, 0.1 percent of the forest cover in Uttarakhand has been affected by fires. She also stated that legal action would be taken against those who propagate wrong figures in this regard.
During the meeting, CS Radha Raturi also claimed that the state government and the administration have put all their efforts into ensuring forest fires are controlled. She informed the Home Secretary that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is continuously conducting reviews and monitoring action in this regard. She, too, has been constantly monitoring the situation and holding review meetings. She said that the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), and Head of the Forest Force (HoFF), Dr Dhananjay Mohan, has also been holding meetings with the field staff of the Forest Department and obtaining detailed updates from all forest divisions and seeking information regarding their requirements for effective firefighting.
Raturi shared that senior-most officers at the headquarters level have been deployed in the field. The field operation is being inspected on the spot by PCCF (HoFF) Dr Dhananjay Mohan and APCCF Forest Fire and Disaster Management Nishant Verma.
The CS also claimed that the state has been successful in minimising the response time to attend to the complaints. Raturi asserted that the fire alert received from FSI is immediately sent on the related WhatsApp groups and the crew concerned is sent to the spot almost immediately. By doing special monitoring of the large number of fire alerts received from FSI, success has been achieved in controlling forest fires in the shortest possible time.
The Chief Secretary also shared that the Van Panchayats, forest fire management committees, Mahila Mangal Dals, Yuva Mangal Dals have been activated and made aware and responsible in this respect, thus resulting in considerable success in controlling forest fires near the villages. Efforts to control forest fires have gained a new momentum by encouraging, rewarding and immediately allocating budgets to community institutions and field officers doing excellent work.
Raturi stated that the cooperation of personnel from all the line departments including disaster management, fire services, etc., is being taken in forest fire control. From 28 April to 1 May, the 15th battalion of NDRF assisted in controlling forest fires in Nainital Forest Division and today this battalion has reached Garhwal Forest Division. An MI 17 V5 Indian Air Force helicopter sprayed 44,600 litres of water in Garhwal Forest Division between 6 and 8 May.
She shared that, during this period, 417 forest crimes were registered in the state, out of which 356 were unknown and in 61 cases, culprits had been named. FIRs were registered against 13 persons with 10 persons having been arrested already.
During the review meeting, the Union Home Secretary assured the state government that all possible support, help and guidance will continue to be provided by the Centre for effective forest fires control in Uttarakhand.
Chief Forest Conservator Dr Dhananjay Mohan, Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, Secretary Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha, Additional Chief Forest Conservator Nishant Verma and other senior officers concerned were present at the meeting.
