Relying on ‘rain god’ no solution: SC to Uttarakhand as forest fires rage
Fire broke out at 62 hectares of forest area in Uttarakhand.
Cloud seeding or depending on rain god is not the answer to the raging forest fires in Uttarakhand, the Supreme Court remarked on Wednesday, even as the state government submitted that several preventive measures, including cloud seeding, were being undertaken to tackle the situation.
The court’s remarks came as it was hearing an application filed by senior advocate Rajeev Datta on April 30 seeking urgent directions for preventive steps, claiming that the recent wildfire has devoured 40% of forests in the Himalayan state. The court decided to involve the central empowered committee (CEC), an expert body, in the matter and posted it for further hearing on May 15.
“Cloud seeding or depending on the rain god is not the answer. He (applicant) is right in saying that you have to take preventive measures,” a bench of justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta told the state’s counsel, after the latter filed a 380-page interim status report elaborating on the current situation and the steps taken to combat the raging flames.
The counsel submitted that rains were expected in the hill state following clearance from authorities for cloud seeding.
Deputy advocate general of state, Jatinder Kumar Sethi, denied claims made by the applicant, saying: “People say that 40% of Uttarakhand is on fire, whereas the position today is that 0.1% of the wildlife cover was on fire. From November till today, we have 398 fires, all man-made.”
As the court wished to know the extent of loss caused to humans and animals, Sethi said five people were killed due to the forest fires and added that he will get the information on numbers of animals killed in these incidents and apprise the court. “The phenomena of forest fires are not new to Uttarakhand and every summer the forest department deals with such fires,” he said.
Stating that media reports projected a wrong picture, Sethi pointed out that the state is monitoring the situation on a real time basis and has taken several steps. “The emergency phase is over. Lot of work is being done that does not come into the media,” he added.
Attributing the main cause behind fires to crop burning, the state informed the court that 388 criminal cases have been registered in the state for causing fires in which 62 offenders have been named. “The offence carries a maximum punishment of two years imprisonment and a fine of ₹20,000. There are drives undertaken by the state to control these fires,” he submitted.
Sethi also said that helicopters of the Indian Air Force were also pressed into service to extinguish the fires.
The applicant, however, told the bench that the state is painting a “very rosy picture” but media reports claim the entire machinery involved in tackling forest fires is busy in election-related work. “The state of affairs is pathetic. People who go to douse the fires do not even have proper equipment,” Dutta argued.
He alleged that the land mafia operates in the state who get contracts for extracting the sap from the pine trees, which are highly inflammable. He also claimed that the state had even changed the land use of forest to benefit contractors. He pointed out that the idea is not just to douse forest fires but also to protect forests and animals.
The bench directed applicant Datta to share his application with advocate K Parmeshwar, the lawyer assisting the court as amicus curiae in cases concerning forest and wildlife. “We request advocate K Parmeshwar to assist in this matter. He shall examine how CEC can help in this regard,” the bench said, posting the matter to May 15.
Dutta filed the application in a pending appeal filed by the Uttarakhand government challenging a decision of the state’s high court of December 19, 2016 giving a slew of directions to control forest fires. The top court had stayed the high court order which required immediate suspension of senior forest officials if the fire is not controlled within a day or two among other suggestions.
Datta told the court that his intention to file the application was to inform the court about a related proceedings before the national green tribunal (NGT) where he is the petitioner. The issue before the tribunal relates to forest fires across India.
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