Editor
In the news item “Sixth Schedule restricts Government action”(ST 10th August 2013 ) it was reported that a senior Forest Department official spoke of the inability of the State Government to check rampant felling of trees. This is attributed to the liberty and perks the State enjoys under the Sixth Schedule which prevents the application of forest laws in private land. The news item goes on to report that the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), TTC Marak, stated that ten years from now Meghalaya will witness scarred hills, depleting water bodies and the like if the current depletion of forest land and environment remains unchecked. Now hold on there! Why should such negative statements come from top Forest Department officials ? If such statements of defeatism, resignation and despondency come from the very people who are expected to be the protectors of our forest resources and our environment then where do we go from here? The Sixth Schedule in the State is nothing new. It has been there since 1950. To keep blaming the Sixth Schedule while our forests continue to deplete day after day only reflects their lack of commitment to the cause. Is it not high time for Forest officials to look for fresh initiatives, find innovative ideas and explore ways and means to circumvent the obstacles that prevent them from doing their duties? As often heard from Forest Department officials, the State Forest Department controls only four percent of forest area in the State. Whether this four percent area is efficiently managed is a different issue altogether. But what is amazing is that for this four percent forest area we have one Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, four Chief Conservators, six Conservators, a host of Divisional Forest Officers, Forest Rangers and hundreds of Foresters and Malis backed up by a huge number of office staff. In spite of this massive man-power in the Department we are now left with the thought that ten years from now the State will have barren, desolate landscapes , dried river beds, extinct wild life and widespread environmental degradations . It is doubtful if the new definition of forest in the State which is the recent proclaimed achievement of the Forest Department will be of much help either . So ten years from now do we still need to have the Forest Department in our State? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind.
Yours etc.,
R.Sawkmie,
Shillong-4
Unwarranted criticism
Editor,
Apropos, the letter to the editor captioned – ‘Abuse of Power,’ (ST Aug 7, 2013), the management of the Shillong Club in its Board meeting held on Aug 8, 2013 has taken a serious view of the allegations made by the writer Steve Lyngdoh who appears to have some vested interest in the affairs of the Shillong Club because upon verification of the Club records it has been found that Shillong Club does not have any member by the said name. It appears that the letter has been published to only confuse the general public and malign the name of the Shillong Club. However the point to point reply to the letter is as under:
The services of the Security Agency was terminated upon due investigation into the complaint made by one of our members and also taking into account the unsatisfactory services and continuous misbehavior of the owner of the security agency with several other members of the Golf Section. The lady guards are being given the option of immediate re-engagement through any other suitable security agency. While it is a fact, that the management of the Shillong Club is headed by Suresh Singh and others but the interest of the writer in highlighting the name of Ramesh Bawri as a remote controller appears to be a problem of personal nature. In fact, Ramesh Bawri is Director in Charge of legal affairs of Shillong Club which has been fighting court cases on behalf of the Club.
The allegation of the writer, that the managing committee has systematically inducted over 200 members of a particular community only brings out the mindset of the writer. We would like to place on record that, since this Board of Directors was duly elected on March 24, 2012, not a single new permanent resident member has been inducted till date. As such, the question of creating a vote bank or otherwise does not arise. The management of the Shillong Club is working in a very transparent manner towards the development of the Club with the pure intention of safeguarding the landed property of the Club which is being appreciated by majority of the members except a handful with vested interests.
Yours etc.,
R.L. Shullai
Director, The Shillong Club Ltd