- By Abhishek Sheoran
- Wed, 15 May 2024 03:38 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rebuked the Centre and the Uttarakhand government over rampant forest fire incidents in the hill state. The apex court pulled up both governments over a lack of funding and the diversion of guards to election duties as over 1,000 wildfires have so far wiped out more than 1,100 hectares of the area since November last year, causing unprecedented damage to flora and fauna in the area.
As per reports, the Centre released only Rs 3.15 crore against the demand of Rs 10 crore to contain forest fire incidents. Moreover, forest officials were deployed to oversee election-related work. "Why have adequate funds not been given? Why have you put forest employees on poll duty amid fires?" the apex court said.
Previously, inquiries regarding the redeployment of forest department personnel for poll-related tasks had been raised. Activists have condemned the state's attempt to diminish the severity of the wildfires and asserted that the limited number of firefighters frequently tackle blazes without adequate equipment.
"This is a sorry state of affairs. You are just making excuses," a bench of Justices BR Gavai, SVN Bhatti, and Sandeep Mehta declared.
The Uttarakhand government, days back, informed the Supreme Court that only 0.1 per cent of the state's wildlife cover was affected by the blazes. According to the state government, there have been 398 man-made forest fires since November last year, lodging 350 criminal cases and identifying 62 individuals involved.
As many as five persons have so far been killed in the fire-related incidents across Uttarakhand.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami has affirmed his government's dedication to managing the situation effectively and has emphasized that measures will be implemented against individuals responsible for initiating such fires.
