TURA: The protest against a move by the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council to auction hundreds of mature trees from its reserve forests in Garo Hills is gaining momentum by the day with even the personnel of the forest department in the GHADC opposing the felling of trees citing the fast dwindling forest cover in the region.
Forest officials and personnel from the district council’s forest department have given a joint petition to Chief Executive Member urging for a halt to the proposed auction of the mature trees in several of its reserve forests in Garo Hills.
In their petition, forest officials have expressed reservation on the move and pointed out that there have been no tree plantation projects undertaken by the district council in the past to try and expand the forest cover.
“In the absence of any plantation activities in the recent past to replace the proposed auction we see a blank in vegetative cover as a consequence of the auction,” stated the petition’s signatories which included top forest officials of the autonomous council.
The Dipul R Marak led Executive Committee of the GHADC had recently decided to auction over 800 mature trees from several of its reserve forests to tide over the financial crisis plaguing the oldest autonomous institution in the Garo Hills.
The decision of the council’s executive committee was met with widespread condemnation and opposition with several student and pressure groups threatening to agitate should the GHADC try and go ahead with the large scale timber felling.
In place of the proposed auction, the forest department has called for the creation and maintenance of several plantations for a period of 5-10 years so that it is able to expand the green cover and make up for the environmental loss caused by the auction of mature trees.
Meanwhile, joining the band wagon at a time when there is stiff opposition to the GHADC’s decision to cut down trees from reserve forests, the GSU CEC led by Tengsak Momin has warned authorities to withdraw its decision or be ready to face agitation.
Urging the GHADC to reconsider its decision and find alternate ways to raise funds, the union said, “This appears to be an extreme step considering the host of negative impacts, the least being the destruction of the flora and fauna, the catastrophic impact it might cause to the water tables but also that the clearing of forests will be a boon for illegal squatters by illegal immigrants.
Besides, not only mature trees of 600 or 800 will be cut down but the decision could lead to the total destruction of forest reserves as unscrupulous businessmen who have been awarded the auction will act with impunity having gained an excuse and an acknowledgement to legally fell trees”.
Other than the natural effects of deforestation, the union said that it could bring a host of other problems for the indigenous people.
“The damage done in the long run will be irreparable as in some places it will aid influx by giving the chance to illegal immigrants to settle in the cleared forest areas.
The union said the GHADC should instead take radical steps to streamline its revenue collection and put into action a deterrent law where corruption in its financial system must be tuned to ward off revenue leakages.
Reminding that Garo Hills faces problems of water shortage every year with citizens needing to rely on private water distributors which can only be solved by reforestation and preventing further damage to water catchment areas, the union resolved to vehemently oppose the move.
