6k trees cut in Corbett reserve for proposed tiger safari: FSI report

Over 6,000 trees on 16.21 hectares of land were felled for the proposed Pakhro tiger safari project in Corbett Tiger Reserve, according to a report of the Forest Survey of India (FSI) based on field visits and an analysis of satellite images.

A total of 6,093 trees are estimated to be felled for the tiger safari, said the 81-page report submitted to the central and state governments.

The Uttarakhand forest department has made detailed observations regarding the report, which it has sent to the FSI , said Vinod Kumar, principal chief conservator of forests. “We want to know what timeline and which satellite images they have used, how they have arrived at this figure of 6,093, what method they have used in interpreting the data and issues like that,” he said.

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“According to our records, there was permission for the felling of 163 trees,” Kumar said. “But later we found that 97 more trees had been cut in the area. Now we want to understand how FSI has arrived at this 6,093 figure.”

The forest department has not accepted the report in its present form, it said in a statement.

The matter relates to a petition filed by Gaurav Bansal, Supreme Court advocate and wildlife activist. The Delhi high court had on August 23 last year directed the National Tiger Conservation Authority to look into the issues of illegal construction, felling of trees and construction of approach roads in the tiger reserve based on the petition.

The authority had constituted a committee on September 5, which inspected the reserve between September 26 and 30 and submitted a report on October 22 last year.

The committee not only recommended a vigilance inquiry against Uttarakhand forest officers responsible for the alleged violation but also urged the union forest and environment ministry to take strong action against the erring officials, Bansal said.

In October last year, the state forest department requested FSI to provide a clear status of the illegal felling of trees through analysis of satellite imagery in the Pakhro area, which falls in the buffer area of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

“Felling of over 6,000 trees, as the FSI reports shows, that too inside the forest area, is nothing but a national shame,” Bansal said. “Persons responsible for all this must be sent behind bars.”

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In April, taking action against illegal constructions and felling of trees in Corbett, the state government had suspended two forest service officers, JS Suhag, the then chief wildlife warden and chief executive officer of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority, and Kishen Chand, the then divisional forest officer, Kalagarh Tiger Reserve. Corbett Tiger Reserve director Rahul (who goes by his first name) was removed from his post and attached to the office principal chief conservator of forests, Dehradun.

In August this year, the state vigilance department registered a case against Chand and others for illegal constructions and felling of trees in the tiger reserve.

Last month, a central empowered committee constituted by the Supreme Court directed the Uttarakhand government to submit specific views on the “legality/illegality” of various activities undertaken within the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the adjoining forest divisions by various officers. The committee also noted that the establishment of a tiger safari within the reserve will shrink the tiger habitat.