PNS | DEHRADUN
The chief spokesperson of Uttarakhand Congress Garima Dasauni has criticised the Forest department of Uttarakhand and Forest minister Subodh Uniyal for questioning the report of Forest Survey of India (FSI).
She said that recently the Union Forest and Environment minister Bhupendra Yadav had released the report of FSI in Dehradun. In the report the FSI had claimed that Uttarakhand is at number one position in the country in the incidents of forest fire. The FSI in its report said that a total of 21,033 alerts of fire were issued from November 2023 to June 2024 which is highest in the country.
Dasauni said that the report has sent shockwaves in the Forest department and now it has started a cover-up operation. She said that the Forest minister of Uttarakhand has claimed that 52 per cent of the data given by the FSI on forest fires are false alerts. “It is unfortunate that instead of taking lessons from the report and initiating major changes to save precious lives and forest wealth the Forest department is questioning the report of the central agency. The very report which was being appreciated by the Union Forest minister is being challenged by the Forest department of Uttarakhand,’’ she said.
Dasauni said that in the year 2021-22 Uttarakhand was on number seven in forest fire alerts while in 2022-23 it was on 13th position in the country. The State now has the dubious distinction of being the State with the maximum number of incidents of forest fires which is being negated by the Forest minister, she said.
