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Only two forest guards protect 5,000 acres of reserved forest land in Pune
The Pune forest department has only two forest guards to protect its official 5,000 acres of reserved forest land located under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)
The Pune forest department has only two forest guards to protect its official 5,000 acres of reserved forest land located under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) area. The forest department has appealed to the citizens to participate wholeheartedly and in large numbers in the Joint Forest Management (JFM) programmes to protect and conserve the forest as it unable to protect the rich biodiversity which is under attack by multiple forces like rapid urbanisation and land sharks during the past few decades.
Vast tracts of urban reserved forest land in around Pune metropolitan region are lying unattended and unprotected for decades together with complaints of encroachment, vandalism, illegal log cutting, obscenity, trespassing and dumping of garbage and cement concrete waste.
The hill ecology of Katraj forest area is under threat from rising construction menace. The rich forest biodiversity houses rare flora and fauna and the forest hills of Pune are regarded as an offshoot or extensions of the protected Western Ghats eco-sensitive zone.
The 85-acre reserve forest land in Tilekarnagar in Kondhwa Budruk has become home to anti-social elements and vandalism with no forest guards in sight.
A visit to the spot revealed that the fence has been broken at sides and mushrooming slums along the approach road made it difficult for morning walkers to reach the forest.
Similarly, no effort has been made by the forest department to protect the biodiversity and instead, it has turned a blind eye to the rich resource which is fast depleting, according to citizens.
Similarly, green activists and neighbourhood citizen groups have demanded protection of 200 acres of NIBM reserve forest by the construction of a protection wall. Besides, the vast 300 geographical spread of protected forest area of Wanowrie-Hadapsar-Mohammwadi also need urgent protection from the vandalism and trespassing.
Praveen Kumar Anand, a green activist said, “We want to develop several urban forests and connect all of them through bridges. We want a regular supply of water tankers and financial assistance from the government and corporates to ensure that this rich forest heritage is protected for the entire humanity.”
According to Satish Gujar, acting in charge and chief conservator of forests (Pune), around 5,000 acres of forest land falls under the PMC area and for 1,500 to 1,000 acres of land, there is only one forest guard.
“We cannot keep new persons as there is a freeze on recruitment. We have initiated urban Joint Forest Management (JFM) committees and it is their responsibility to protect the forests. Fortunately, we have constructed 35 kilometres of protection walls around the reserved forest. If people are ready to contribute, a minimum of Rs 1 then JFM can do good work. There are challenges before us and we are working towards protecting the biodiversity with citizens’ participation. We are having only two guards to protect the entire forest land which falls under the PMC area. Similarly, it is also the duty of the citizens to protect the forests located in their respective areas,” Gujar said.
