HC takes suo motu cognisance of wildfires, tells govt to file report

Taking suo motu cognizance of the reports about the gravity of raging fires which have affected thousands of hectares of forest land in the state, the Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to submit a status report within 24 hours

Published on: May 30, 2018, 22:17:49 IST

Hindustan Times, Nainital | By Neeraj Santoshi

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Taking suo motu cognizance of the reports about the gravity of raging fires which have affected thousands of hectares of forest land in the state, the Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to submit a status report within 24 hours.

The high court seeks details on number of forest fires reported, kind of damage caused, and what steps the state government was taking to prevent them. (HT Photo)

A division bench of Chief Justice KM Joseph and Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma directed the state to submit details pertaining to number of forest fires reported, the kind of damage caused, and what steps the government was taking to prevent them, said advocate MC Pant.

Pant said he had on may 22 and 23 mentioned forest fires and the destruction caused by them before the court in the course of the days’ proceedings citing various newspaper articles published recently. Pant also told the court that in many cases the fires had reached near schools in Almora and Pauri districts.

“Recognising the seriousness of the situation, the court decided to treat the matter as a PIL and asked the state government to reply by Thursday,” Pant said.

Chief standing counsel Paresh Tripathi, who represented the state government, told media that the court has given government time till Thursday to file its detailed response.

According to the data collected by Forest Survey of India, so far there have been 1,958 incidents of forest fire this season in the state, which have destroyed 4,202 hectares of forest land posing revenue loss of over ₹81.36 lakh. The forest fire season in state began on February 15.

In 2016, forest fires had burnt down over 4,500 hectare of vegetation, with a major portion of damage being recorded in April (2,270 hectare) and May (2,187 hectare) in the state.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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