M A I N   N E W S

Probe report holds auction of trees in Sirsa division unlawful
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

The stump of one of the trees felled illegally before auction in Sirsa.

‘Auction fetched higher revenue’ Conservator of Forests, Hisar Territorial Division, however, maintained that the auction fetched much higher revenue to the government than the HFDC would have given He denied that any policy or the court orders prevented him from giving the felling work through open auction

Sirsa, April 20
An inquiry report into the allegations of irregularities and misappropriation of funds in the auction of trees by Sirsa Forest Division in Kalanwali range of the Haryana Forest Department points towards a massive cover-up of illicit felling of green trees.

The report of the inquiry conducted by the then Ellenabad SDM Vijay Kumar Siddappa Bhav holds the auction unlawful and in violation of Forest (Conservation) Act 1980, National Working Plan Code, guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), National Forest Policy 1988, State Forest Policy 2006 as well as orders of the Supreme Court issued on write petition CWP 171 of 1996.

The then Deputy Commissioner J Ganesan had directed Vijay Kumar Siddappa Bhav to conduct an inquiry after the state government sought a report from the district administration.

Three contractors have since moved National Green Tribunal with the plea that the trees did not exist at the site as explained to them at the time of auction.

In Haryana, the plantation and protection of trees is done by territorial wing of the Forest Department, while the work of felling of dead, dry and fallen trees is undertaken by the production wing, also called the logging wing in some districts and by the Haryana Forest Development Corporation (HFDC) in some other districts.

The system has proved foolproof in checking illicit felling as the territorial wing makes a marking list of trees to be felled along with their measurement and then hands over the charge to the logging wing or the HFDC as the case may be.

After the felling, the logging wing returns the charge of the forest area to the territorial wing. Sirsa Forest Division falls under the jurisdiction of logging wing, Hisar, for felling purposes, but the dead, dry and fallen trees were not being given to it for felling by the territorial wing for the past five years or so.

In July 2013, the department deviated from the rules and gave the task of felling of 6,462 cubic meters of dry and fallen trees to private contractors through open auction for Rs 7.11 crore.

The department argued that had the felling been done through the HFDC, it would have fetched the government merely 1.57 crore.

Sources in the department, however, said in Sirsa, 80 per cent of the trees are sheesham, which are considered best due to their quality. Comparing their price with safeda or keekar was not fair. The sources said the contention was Rs 7.11 crore revenue was not correct as the contractors have not deposited the money though the stipulated period for it has long elapsed. The report said the auction was done on the basis of enumeration carried out in 2004-05, which implies that when felling work was given to private contractors, there were unaccounted for green trees in place in the area.

Inquiry officer also mentioned that he visited forest strip along Shekhupuria Minor and noticed green tree not marked for felling lying uprooted on the ground.

Vinod Kumar Jhanjharia, Conservator of Forests, Hisar Territorial Division, however, maintained that the auction fetched much higher revenue to the government than the HFDC would have given.