SC summons Uttarakhand chief secretary over forest fires
The Supreme Court on Wednesday summoned the Uttarakhand chief secretary to appear before it on Friday, expressing criticism over the state government's "lackadaisical" approach toward handling forest fires. A bench headed by Justice B R Gavai, also comprising Justices SVN Bhatti and Sandeep Mehta further flagged huge vacancy in the state's forest department, and said the issue needs to be addressed. The court has also prohibited any state from deploying forest officials or forest department vehicles for poll duty.
Why does this story matter?
The fire in the upper reaches of a hill in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal district's Dhumakot area is one of 998 forest fires recorded by the state's forest department since November 2023, with 68 occurring between May 6 and 7 alone. Last season, the state reported 773 such fires. So far, these fires have affected 1,196 hectares of forest land, caused wild animals to encroach into residential areas, and resulted in four fatalities.
Court questions underutilization of central funds
The Supreme Court has sought an explanation from the Uttarakhand government regarding the underutilization of central funds allocated for combating forest fires. According to reports, out of over ₹9 crore disbursed by the Centre last year, only ₹3.14 crore was utilized for fire prevention measures. The chief secretary has been asked to clarify this discrepancy, along with issues related to large vacancies in the forest department and lack of firefighting equipment.
Supreme Court criticizes inadequate funding for forest fires
In addition, the apex court criticized the Centre for providing only ₹3.15 crore to tackle the forest fires, against a demand of ₹10 crore. "Why have adequate funds not been given? Why have you put forest employees on poll duty amid fires?" the SC bench said. The court also accused the government of painting a "rosy picture." "You showed us a rosy picture when things were worse," the court said.
Uttarakhand's initiative to combat forest fires
In response to the crisis, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched the "Pirul Lao-Paise Pao" Mission last week. This campaign involves local villagers and youth collecting Pirul (pine tree leaves), a major cause of forest fires, for disposal. The collected Pirul is then sold to the government at ₹50/kg. According to Dhami, this initiative has significantly reduced incidents of forest fire and provided income for villagers living near the forest area.
