The Forest Department’s failure to take actions proves their involvement.
The Revenue Secretary should clarify whether the JK Land Record site is giving wrong information.
Jammu, 17th April: A huge scam worth crores has been committed in Thandi Choi Village of Kalidhar Forest range alleged by Atul Sudan a Youth and Social Activist in a Press Conference today at Press Club Jammu. Coming with facts Atul Sudan alleged that the Forest Department along with Patwari Thandi Choi, Naib Tehsildar Kharah Balli and Tehsildar Kharah Balli have committed this huge scam. He said local contractors have accepted crores in cash as advance for this wood from factories and those contractors are now frustrated after the transportation of wood stopped. They are now misleading farmers and they only are the real culprits making huge losses to farmers. He appealed to genuine farmers to come out and identify those blue eyed people and he will stand with them for the transportation permission of their genuine felled Khair wood.
Addressing the media, he said permission for Thandi Choi felling was accorded in 2016-17 and felling was completed but in 2022-23 when Chandi Choi village was listed in Plan the department deviated it as Thandi Choi. He said there is provision to repeat a village in the 10 year cycle but for that proper grounds and justification are needed which is failed here. As if the department claims Thandi Choi village has a larger volume (i.e. 9689.59 cubic meter silvi culturally available growing stock) that is why it is repeated for the second time. Whereas truth is that village Dhanna (14, 814 cubic meters Silvicultural available growing stock) and Manoha (13,788.29 cubic meter Silvicultural available growing stock) in the same Kalidhar Range has far more volume than Thandi Choi than why didn’t that villages were repeated. The Department’s second claim is that in 2016-17 there was not sufficient felling and farmers this year approached DC Jammu who wrote to us and we worked on it. But why didn’t the locals and farmers of Thandi Choi demand an extension in 2016-17 March-April or from 2018 to 2022 as they all wake up from deep slumber in 2023. Further the department is giving examples of villages repeated in Udhampur Forest Division where the maximum permissible annual volume to be felled is only 18.91 cubic meter which is negligible when compared with Jammu Division whose maximum permissible annual volume to be felled is 10,636.72 cubic meter Annually. Further not only Name Chandi Choi Thandi Choi but also the total area, total private area, permissible volume every thing was different from Thandi Choi and Chandi Choi. Also as per the rules mentioned in SRO 111 for Khair Felling in Point 4(5) “No Deviation from 11 Year Plan is permissible”. This needs a high level enquiry how this “Chandi Choi village was changed as Thandi Choi” using which a multi crore scam was committed. DC Jammu has nothing to do with notifying villages for felling. Forest department official BMohan Das Conservator falsely claimed that this was the mistake of the Revenue Department as mentioned in a leading National Paper. He said isn’t it a perfect astrology that during making the plan they predicted that in upcoming year 2016-17 complete felling of Khair even after permissions is not going to be done in Thandi Choi and that’s why we should repeat it as this plan of 10 years is made in advance.
In lieu of this permission 89 files were sanctioned and permitted for the felling. The role of Revenue officials started during this time in which many false files were made without calculating the exact share of the person, without verifying the Khasra Girdawari and other essentials requisition. Some Khasra no which were harvested in 2016-17 were again granted permission in 2022-23 whereas the rotation period of Khair Trees to regrow is 34 years. Revenue department officials in connivance with Forest department sanctioned a large amount of excessive Khair Trees for felling in some files than they were originally on ground in that particular Khasra number. In lieu of which these excessive trees were felled in forest land.
After which a sue motto report was prepared by Tehsildar Khour, BFO Khour and SHO Khour that everything is fine and they spread a word of mouth to all officials in higher ups in Forest, Revenue and Police that there is no forest in Thandi Choi. This was the most misleading point which kept everyone in the dark. Later on from JK Land Record Site Khasra Number 212, 213, 375, 376, 379, 380, 386 are Forest Land. Conservator Forest East has accepted in a phone call with us that revenue has withdrawn their claim that there is no forest and now has accepted forest in this. DC Jammu is investigating the matter and record has been called as per our sources. Further second enquiry team which was constituted by DFO Jammu has recommended for Demarcation of the forest as they were unable to locate originally where the forest is and where the malkiyat land starts. Demarcation of the whole forest is a must to calculate total loss of forest. The forest department has its Compartment 29 and 30 in Village Thandi Choi and Boundary Pillars were also constructed in Thandi Choi regarding which RTI has been filed. It is shameful that the forest department doesn’t know their forest area and boundary in Thandi Choi other than what the forest guards, block officers and rangers are taking care of.
Each time the enquiry team, Conservator and the Chief Conservator Forest went to that area they found uprooted stumps and buried stumps which proves something is wrong. That’s why this is done to destroy evidence. As per Management Plan of Khair growing in Non Forest Land Uprooting of Khair Trees as well as standing shall not be done unless permitted by an empowered officer. Till now no such permission is given by an empowered officer other than the department restraint to take action on its staff under whose nose this evidence destruction is going on. From last month continuously the stumps of illegally felled Khair Trees are uprooted and buried on a daily basis. But department officials fail to take action on their staff who allow all this which proves their involvement in the scam. Evidence of all this was shown in the media by Atul Sudan.
Sudan further alleges that this is a high level and multi crore scam in which involvement of many high level officers can’t be declined. He said two days before on the request of CCF when I sent my colleague along with him for his help to locate the Katial Simbal village whose permission is not given and illegal felling was done there. That colleague was pressured, threatened and manhandled in the presence of CCF, CF, DFO and all others regarding which FIR have been registered in Khour Police Station. He said this was a conspiracy of the department as it was assured by CCF that he will not disclose the identity of my associate and will go alone with him. But all accused employees and accused people were gathered and pressure was built on that associate to sign a false report claiming that he along with the team verified all spots and everything was found right. The associate has refused to sign the false report. Further on the same day the photographs clicked by associates are of uprooting stumps, buried stumps and coordinates are located in Kitial Simbal. Sudan alleged that during high level meetings with PCCF, CCF, CF and DFO i was tried to be convinced that data of land record and coordinates on Jammu Kashmir Land Record site is totally false. He appealed to LG Manoj Sinha and Revenue Secretary to clear whether this site is giving wrong data. If it is so, this site should be closed.
He added he is not against the genuine farmers and will stand by them and all their losses should be paid by the defaulters and officials involved in this scam. He said till the date the department is making misleading and false reports to higher ups as they themselves are not aware about their boundary. He appealed to Lieutenant Governor to constitute a high level team of credible Revenue and Forest Officials to investigate the matter after getting complete demarcation of complete forest land in Thandi Choi. He demands strict punishment for all those involved. Further he said two department officials are making pressure on him also to withdraw my complaint by whatsapp calls and if anything happened to him or his associates who were disclosed by Forest officials the department will be completely responsible for the same
