Unauthorise construction by Radha Soami Satsang

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=255093
Cut a tree in Shimla, pay through your nose
Ashwani Sharma

Shimla, September 07: Cut a tree in Shimla and get fined a minimum of Rs 50,000 or face legal consequences like spending a year in jail. This is one of the deterrents that Himachal Pradesh proposes to introduce in Shimla to save its precious forest cover.

The town’s tall deodars are dwindling fast because of new constructions, with influential people illegally felling, damaging and chopping off trees. Others have also been found pouring acid and toxic chemicals to dry the trees and subjecting them to an unnatural death.

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To deal with the offenders, the government is getting ready to enact a new law - the Tree Preservation Act of Shimla, a draft for which has already been submitted by Shimla’s conservator of forests Vineet Kumar. Some states, including Delhi, Maharashtra and Karnataka, have already enacted similar laws.

“The draft of the Act will be put before the Cabinet in its next meeting. If approved, the government will promulgate an ordinance and enforce some stringent measures in the town to preserve its greenery,” Principal Secretary (Forests) Ashok Thakur told The Indian Express.

Anyone felling a standing forest tree to undertake construction or causing damage to trees by any act, including cutting, dumping or applying chemical, burning, burying, bulldozing, etc, will be booked by the forest department. The forest department officials and the police will have powers to make arrests without a warrant.

What has hastened the move was the recent detection of unauthorised construction activity by Radha Soami Satsang, which has raised a concrete highway for its landfill work, thus causing damaging to countless trees. Two other leading hoteliers, one barely a few metres away from the Chief Minister’s secretariat, also felled trees and went scot free.

Says Thakur, “We found several officials helpless to stop the construction or save the trees. The existing laws gives only limited powers and a meagre fine. Thus,the government feels the need to impose strict measures.”

Nevertheless, the new law also proposes steps to grant permission to cut down or remove trees if they pose danger to life, property, obstruct movement of traffic or are damaged by natural calamities. This task will be handled by a tree committee headed by the conservator of forest, Shimla, with at least five other members, including elected representatives of the Municipal Corporation.

There will be a regulatory body, to be known as tree authority, to keep a close eye on existing forest trees. Those cutting down or damaging trees will required to plant new trees at the site of the damage and residents who already have trees standing on their property shall be asked to effectively protect them from damage or loss.