Haridwar, June 8
The Rajaji National Park, which is known for its flora, fauna and wildlife, seems to have become a soft target for wood smugglers.

Going by the huge number of precious trees being logged, the park could be termed a wood smugglers’ paradise.

Such is the magnitude of tree-felling going on openly at Rajaji and the adjacent forest ranges that now, villagers have come out in the open against the activities of smugglers and the laxity of the forest department officials.

Villagers had complained to the Chief Forest Conservator in this regard and on his directions, a team of forest department officials and villagers was formed.

The combing of the entire area was done to overview the whole situation.

The investigation team found that 166 trees had been cut in Gullar Padav beat, next to the Satya Narayan temple, in Motichur range of the park.

But Rajaji director SS Rasailly stated that though the investigation team has completed the inquiry, it hasn’t submitted its report.

“It will be premature to say that within a month, such a huge number of trees have been cut,” said Rasailly.

“Only after the final report is submitted, we will be able to access how many trees have been cut in the recent past. The team has counted all trees that have been cut from 1994 to a week back,” said director Rasailly.

Team investigator and Range Officer, Ghauri range, C Dhyani informed that the investigation was being done on the directions of the Uttarakhand Chief Forest Conservator and till date, more than 166 trees that have been illegally cut have been identified.

Former Raiwala village panchayat head Shankar Singh Negi alleged that park officials were trying to conceal the situation on the ground.

He further alleged that during the joint search, the majority of trees that had been cut were freshly cut, some as recent as two months ago.

This points to the active movement of smugglers in the past few months in the park.

While park authorities refute the charges of the villagers and maintained that wood smugglers were not having a free run in the park.

The huge number of cut trees didn’t mean that all trees had been illegally logged by smugglers, they said.

Notably, the wood loggers have targeted trees which fetch a good price as most felled trees were of the ‘sagaun’, ‘sheesham’, ‘saal’ and ‘khair’ variety.

The team noticed that many cut trees had burn marks. Some local villagers allege that it was an attempt to wipe out the evidence.

But questions are being raised whether all these activities had been done by some forest employees in complicity with the smugglers.

During Holi, the park authorities were caught napping when smugglers cut several ‘sagaun’ trees worth more than Rs 50 lakh in Motichur range.

The place where the incident took place was barely 100m away from the Motichur forest post and the entrance to the Rajaji National Park from the Dehradun-Haridwar national highway.

The huge logs of ‘sagaun’ were carried on vehicles but forest guards came to know about the incident after a few days of the act.

Uttarakhand Chief Forest Conservator RBS Rawat had ordered a high-level departmental inquiry into the incident.

The smugglers are quite active in the park area which can be gauged from the last month’s shootout between forest guards and wood smugglers.

On May 4 in Sendhli beat of Dhaulkhand area in the Beriwada block, there was a shootout between forest guards and smugglers.

Notorious smuggler Suleman was killed while two of his aides, Shamsheer and Khushnood, got wounded and were caught red -handed.

Family members of the smugglers and villagers alleged that these smugglers had made been made scapegoats as forest authorities were under pressure to show some success in the Holi smuggling case and that was the reason why a fake encounter shootout was carried out.

Two months earlier, forest officials had seized illegal saw mills operating in the Raiwala area.

Dehradun, June 8
Even as the expiry date of the special package of incentives is drawing closer, the industry in Uttarakhand is looking up to political lobbying for its extension because the prevailing fiscal atmosphere in the country and general policy directions under the new central regime do not offer any tangible hope for the same.

“I am not optimistic about the extension, as the Central revenue collections are dipping. So in these circumstances, the Union government can hardly afford extension of the package containing tax holiday. If it happens at all, the decision will be political,” said Pankaj Gupta, president, Industries Association of Uttarakhand.

The package announced in 2003 by the NDA regime was meant for 10 years. But it was reduced to five years by the successor UPA government. However, it was later extended up to 2010. The rationale behind the package was to promote industrialisation in the state in its nascent stage.

Experts, however, believe that the state failed to do its bit to consolidate the benefits of the package. For instance, the development of infrastructure, among other things, during the package period, which would have enabled the state to finally become an automatic choice of for investors, did not take place at the desired level.

“We want the package to continue. But if this does not happen, the state government should be prepared to neutralise its impact. Besides improving infrastructure, red-tapism has to be tackled firmly to send a positive signal to prospective industrial investors here,” said Rakesh Oberoi, chairman, Uttarakhand State Council of CII.

The undercurrent of skepticism, in the words of Oberoi, seems to be gripping the minds of the political class as well. It is for this reason that Chief Minister BC Khanduri and prominent Congress leaders, including minister of state for employment and labour Harish Rawat, are talking in the same language.

BJP’s Rajya Sabha member and former CM Bhagat Singh Koshiyari yesterday added that the Congress MPs from the state should also contribute in clinching the issue in the interests of the state.

“I do not think anything is going to happen. After all, for how long the Central government will let its kitty suffer from this freebie. Further extension of the package actually amounts to losing more revenue and this does not seem possible in the prevailing situation in the country. All eyes are now on the political leadership of the state. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” said an industrialist not wishing to be named.

Under the package, industrial units are availing excise and income tax exemptions for 10 years from starting commercial production.

Almora, June 8
In a unique ritual, devotees in Almora district write letters to God and hang it at the Neleya Pant temple of lord Golu, an incarnation of Lord Shiva.

Lord Golu is reputed for making wishes come true if requested with a clear conscience.

The numerous bells that hang in the temple premises are a symbol of the many wishes that have been fulfilled.

"He is the god of justice. People from different parts of India and abroad come here and hang their applications here if they have been denied justice. If their wishes are fulfilled, they come and donate bells," said the priest of the temple Neleya Pant.

People have immense faith in the deity and hundreds of devotees visit the temple everyday.

"People believe that if they put their letter here, their wishes will be fulfilled. I too have put a letter here," said Prakash Chand, a devotee. Those facing legal problems often use stamp paper for their letters.

Devotees offers bells and sacrifice animals after the fulfilment of their wish. Thousands of bells of every size can be seen hanging on the temple premises.

Lord Golu is worshipped all over the region and regarded as the dispenser of justice by the devotees.

There are many temples of Lord Golu in Kumaon and the most popular of them are at Chitai, Champawat and Ghorakhal. — ANI

Dehradun, June 8
With the Centre ruling out any change in the 1980 Forest Conservation Act, a prominent NGO here has sought the intervention of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the issue claiming that her late husband, Rajiv Gandhi, was in favour of amending the legislation to protect the rights of tribal people.

The Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) chairperson Avdhash Kaushal has compiled numerous speeches by the former Prime Minister and sent them to Sonia reminding her of the "commitment" made by Rajiv for making necessary changes in the Forest Act.

"One of the very big problems in Adivasi areas pertains to the Forest Conservation Act. For our Adivasi brothers and sisters, this new law has created a number of difficulties.

“The attempt in this legislation was to save the forests but the result has been to punish the Adivasis. We have to consider how things can be set right," Rajiv has been quoted as saying in his speech at Nandurbar in Maharashtra on March 31, 1989.

Kaushal said Rajiv Gandhi had clearly stated that there was a need for a change in the Forest Act.

"I request you to think of a forest policy which is people friendly," he said in the letter.

RLEK also sent a similar letter to Union Minister of State for Forests and Environment Jairam Ramesh, who at a press conference here this week, ruled out any change in the Forest Conservation Act which he said was enacted to increase the forest cover.

The Dehradun-based NGO, which is working for the protection of traditional forest rights of tribal and nomadic communities residing in the jungles, has sought a clarification from the Union government on the issue.

Kaushal claimed Chief Minister BC Khanduri had joined the demand for necessary changes in the Forest Act.

The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), a coalition partner of the BJP government, has also criticised the Union minister for not allowing necessary changes in what it dubbed as an 'anti-people' law.

"These changes are a must for the benefit of people since over 65 per cent of the area in Uttarakhand is under forests," said UKD president Narayan Singh Jantwal. — PTI