The battle over forests

Writ Petition number 202 of 1995; Godavarman v the Union of India and others. This is the 'forest case' being heard in Supreme Court for the past seven years. With more than 800 interlocutory applications (ias) filed, the case will dictate the fate of India's forests and an estimated 10 million indigenous tribal people who live in and off the forest.

Ex-Chief Minister in the dock

People have for long been usurped of their rights over forests by industrialists, the timber mafia and corrupt officials. One such instance of misuse of power is the controversial khair wood allotment case in Himachal Pradesh (HP). Shimla Special Judge M D Sharma has issued summons to former HP chief minister Virbhadra Singh and four others under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.

After officialdom

I would love to write a handbook on the Indian bureaucracy. But for now let me focus on a favourite, the yes-minister technique. Do nothing, and then when pushed, unleash chaos. Nothing succeeds as much as failure. Every solution has a problem.

'The forest mafia is very powerful'

How did you, a historian, get so deeply involved with deforestation issues? The history and culture of Uttaranchal is directly linked with its forests. I was working on the history of deforestation, and realised that the lucrative business of illegal timber trade is the single-largest cause of deforestation. Unless this is stopped, initiatives like joint forest management (jfm) and social forestry programmes would only grow forests for mafias. Interviewee:  Ajay S Rawat

Cops under cloud

it is a classic case of keepers turning marauders. The Supreme Court (sc) has issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government over the alleged involvement of the state police in timber smuggling. The notice which was issued on September 26, 2002 was in response to an application by Damoh-based activist Santosh Bharti pointing to the seizure of a truck registered under the police department. The truck was caught illegally carrying teak wood from the Tendukheda reserve forests, located 60 kilometres from Damoh.

Turncoat 'thieves'

Popular campaign

THE Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NFEJ) is celebrating transmission of 250 episodes of Aankhijhyal, a programme on environmental, social and sustainable development concerns. Aankhijhyal is an impact-oriented investigative programme that has managed to gain an impressive audience in Nepal.

RAPPED FOR INACTION

More than 24 people were accused in the land and forest scam in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. However, no action was taken against the culprits. Taking serious note of this, an empowered committee constitued by the Supreme Court reprimanded the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh governments and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The timber mafia, senior politicians and bureaucrats allegedly connived in the scam.They were charged with grabbing tribal land in forest areas and felling of trees.

Theft in tiger country

hundreds of trees were hacked recently near Gosaba in the Sunderbans in West Bengal. The felling is said to be the handiwork of timber smugglers. However, no action has been taken against the culprits till now.According to forest department authorities, the trees were chopped down over a two-kilometre stretch and the illegal operation had the backing of the local political leaders. Armed as they were with sophisticated weapons, even the local people did not dare to challenge the smugglers.

Woman power

The women of Dengajharia non-descript village in Orissahave broken through ages of gender and caste oppression to pioneer a revolutionary forest protection movement in their village.