There have been repeated incursions and felling of trees inside the Reserved Forests of Garo Hills, particularly East Garo Hills but the State Environment and Forest Department continues to live in denial of this daylight robbery of timber worth crores of rupees. Way back in 2012, Ranjit Singh Gill, Joint Director, Forest Survey of India (FSI) had sent a written complaint to the Director General, FSI about Meghalaya’s forest cover, based on the State Forest Report (SFR), 2009 filed by the Meghalaya Government. Gill’s contention was that the SFR did not mention the two Reserved Forests in Garo Hills which were ravaged due to illegal timber trade. Following his complaint, FSI sent a team of four officials to Meghalaya of which Gill was also a member.
The FSI team inspected Dibru Hills Reserve Forests and Holloidonga Beat in West Garo Hills district and discovered littered tree stumps of grounded trees. The FSI 2009 Report was based on satellite imagery. Gill had alleged that roughly 12 million cubic feet of timber worth several thousand crores of rupees was felled in the reserved forests of Garo Hills. The then Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Meghalaya rubbished the allegations and derided the FSI survey report. He stated instead that it was the vegetation cover that was assessed and not forest cover. This is a case of semantics. The PCCF tried to explain away the illegal feeling of trees in the Reserve Forests by citing that the FSI report takes includes forests that are outside its ambit. Following Gill’s complaint the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) appointed by the Supreme Court directed the State Forest department to submit details of timber seized in the State between 2002-09 to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The State Forest department accordingly submitted the details to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The PCCF diminished the gravity of the situation by stating that such seizure is a normal thing and that cutting of trees is a minor offence. He even went as far as saying that there is no forest in the entire world where illegalities do not occur (meaning that trees are regularly cut even under areas designated as Reserved Forests.
With such an attitude, no wonder the Reserve Forests in Garo Hills have become easy prey for the timber lobby. Will the MDA Govt stop the plunder of forests?