PAC serves notice on Chief Secy, Forest Dept

The Public Action Committee (PAC), an umbrella body of various organisations, has served a notice upon the Chief Secretary, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, DC and DFO against the use of a large number of forest pockets for non-forestry purposes in Ludhiana. There are buildings constructed over many such pockets by going against the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.

Er Kapil Arora and Kuldeep Singh Khaira said as checked in the Master Plan of Ludhiana, it was found that a large number of pockets were marked as forest areas. However, when they cross-verified factual conditions using Google Maps, it was found that all such pockets were being used for non-forestry purposes.

“Most of these pockets are located along Rahon Road, Badowal, Kila Raipur, Khasi Kalan, Bhamian Kalan, etc. In August 2024, we had served one notice to the DC, Ludhiana, for demarcation of a forest land located in Khaira Bet as well as Jagraon but no action has been taken in the matter till date. The total land area of all such forests is over 500 acres,” Arora said.

Dr Amandeep Singh Bains and Gurpreet Singh said the forest cover of Ludhiana was already less, i.e. only 1.47 per cent as compared to the national target of 33 per cent of the geographical area and most of the forest land in the urban area has been transferred for the purpose of construction of elevated roads, access to various private projects, concretisation of minor canals, etc, and mostly, compensatory afforestation is being done in forests of Ropar and Hoshiarpur, which is over 150 km away from Ludhiana despite availability of hundreds of acres of forest land within the district. Besides these locations of forest pockets, there are many more as marked in the master plan.

Jaskirat Singh said most of the forest pockets as depicted in the master plan were located in the developing urban area of Ludhiana and it is a well-known fact that the forests act as lungs for society and help in recharging the groundwater table.

Therefore, all such chunks of forest land must be developed as forest by planting saplings of indigenous/native trees of the state during the monsoon season.

“The master plan has been deleted from its website by GLADA, which we think has been done intentionally as a large number of commercial projects are being developed in residential zones of Ludhiana, which is against the development plan and would lead to further deterioration of the environment in the city,” the PAC members said.

The PAC has given three weeks to the authorities to initiate action, failing which the committee will move the National Green Tribunal for redressal of their legitimate grievance as well as in the larger public interest.

Ludhiana