NGT constitutes a committee to identify violators in the illegal cutting of trees in Uttarakhand

The Forest Survey of India (FSI) has declared that the cutting down of 6,000 trees in Corbett Tiger Reserve in Kalagarh Tiger Reserve Division in Uttrakhand is environmental damage.

The matter has been taken up suo motu by the NGT in the light of a media report to the effect that 6,000 trees have been illegally cut in Corbett Tiger Reserve in Kalagarh Tiger Reserve Division in Uttrakhand.

The NGT has issued notices to the District Magistrate of Ramnagar, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), and Wildlife Warden of Kalagarh Tiger Reserve Division, Uttarkashi. It has also sought a report within two weeks on why action should not be taken against them for their failure in preserving the forest cover in Corbett Tiger Reserve

The NGT has also issued a notice to the Deputy Commissioner of Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, seeking his response on why action should not be taken against him for allowing the illegal felling of trees within Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR). The NGT’s order comes in the wake of a complaint filed by one Mahesh Verma who alleged that the illegal felling of trees was being carried out by contractors at the behest of politicians and bureaucrats.

The number of trees observed per hectare from all the inventory plots when multiplied by the area figures of a particular site gives the number of estimated trees fallen at that particular site. By adding the estimated trees at different sites, the total estimated number of trees felled arrives in the study area.

The standard error of estimates has come out to be 10.31 trees, which is within the acceptable limit, the report said. The standard error percentage has been calculated as 2.72 percent, which is quite low and acceptable. The standard error has been used for the calculation of the 95 percent confidence limit for the estimated number of trees felled, the FSI report stated in its site-wise area of clear felling and estimated number of trees felled. (ANI)