A report filed with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) reveals gross inadequacies in Uttarakhand’s forest fire management infrastructure, emphasizing that it is a region that is acutely in need of effective resources and systems for controlling forest fires. The report dated 14 October was submitted by amicus curiae advocate Gaurav Bansal, who was appointed in April to assist the NGT with a case related to forest fires and leaf burning in the Badkot forest range on the Rishikesh-Dehradun Road.
Major Deficits in Firefighting Material and Manpower
It provides a detailed account of state infrastructure deficits beginning with assessments of firefighting equipment and manpower resources. The findings indicate that Uttarakhand lacks some critical firefighting tools, such as protective goggles, safety gear, and weapons, which are very important to safeguard both personnel and forests in case of fire emergencies. There is also a lack of patrolling vehicles, which restricts forest officials from effectively reaching and monitoring remote, fire-prone areas. It reports that the absence of a reliable fleet of patrolling vehicles during fire incidents makes timely response and access to affected areas quite difficult, thus limiting the capabilities of the forest department.
It should be noted that there was little provision for the necessary communicating tools, including wireless and satellite phones, to facilitate fast coordination between forest department persons, especially during fire times. In the mountainous region of Uttarakhand, proper communication is, therefore, a vital thing in effective forest fire response. Without such equipment, officers cannot pass urgent word, and this slows their response time and complicates coordination.
Insufficient Forest Department Staff and Infrasstructures
This inadequacy in equipment is complemented by a deficiency in the man power of the state that raises the risk to the forest resources of the state. According to the report, a single forest guard is entrusted with an area of 2,448 hectares of forests. In addition to controlling the incidence of forest fires, they have to carry out other responsibilities of checking illicit felling, illegal mining, and the poaching of wildlife. This heavy workload, along with limited resources, is a big challenge for the forest guard to protect and manage the forest area effectively.
As if this was not enough, forest guard posts, popularly known as chowkis, are located in remote areas and thus lack basic amenities, and staff has neither proper shelter, water, nor electricity. The report shows that the infrastructural development, for instance, the building and maintaining fire lines—that are barriers preventing the spreading of fires, have been left unattended to. For a long time, the state government has not audited its fire lines that have degraded the efforts to put out the fire and created more hazards in the forest and other surrounding communities.
Financial and Employment Challenges
The report identifies a number of administrative practices that determine the performance of the personnel. One is the system in which the revenue loss incurred through illegal activities like illegal logging is made liable to the forest guards. Generally, if there has been illicit felling or exploitation of the forest in the guards’ area of control, then the salary of the guard is deducted. So much so that forest guards are already overstretched, given their very limited capacity and resources, so impossible it becomes to be able to prevent all such illicit activities. It then calls for an overburdening of the guards by limiting them with the tools or support needed to take effective action against such illicit activities, the report argues.
Many of the field persons engaged by the forest department are daily wage workers or nonpermanent staff, and this particular risk is very serious in case of a forest fire or other hazardous incidents, as they are not insured. The report thus suggests that the lack of insurance affects not only the financial security of the workers but also the overall efforts put into forest management, because personnel might be less likely to work in risky situations.
Martyr Status to the Fallen Forest Personnel
The report suggests bestowing official martyr status for forest personnel, who died in the performance of duties. The persons would be termed as martyrs, the move would honor the victims, and more attention would get drawn to the risks involved with protection of forests. This would encourage the government to intensify its efforts to improve the security and welfare of the existing employees by designating a forest guard killed in an incident as a martyr, thus ensuring the employees receive a better workplace and better care.
Recommendations for Enhancing Forest Fire Management
Among the recommendations, the report lists action series to improve these shortages in forest fire management: the nodal office involved in handling forest fires would not be burdened by any other administrative roles since there would be full focus in forest fire management and firefighting.
Another significant suggestion is to ask the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to provide more and specific funds for the Uttarakhand forest department. The amount of funds needs to be increased so that personnel are equipped with different types of firefighting tools, proper vehicles, and communication devices throughout remote areas. This will improve patrolling on the infrastructural level for the construction and maintenance of fire lines.
Conclusion
There is an urgent need for a critical gap to be bridged in the management system of forest fires in the state of Uttarakhand as highlighted in the amicus curiae report presented before the NGT. In the absence of development of equipment, workforce support, and basic infrastructure, it leaves the state to bear the brunt of intense environmental damage through forest fires that may have a far-reaching ecological, economic, and social impact.
The report findings highlight some broader issues that fall under the general umbrella of forest management in India as a whole. In states such as Uttarakhand, which has difficult topography, is vulnerable to climate change, and faces resource limitations such that fire is a menace, addressing the shortcomings mentioned here would enhance Uttarakhand’s preparedness to, and response to, forest fires. In that respect, its precious landscapes of nature and biodiversity will be preserved for the benefit of future generations.
Source
Report of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), according to Advocate Gaurav Bansal