Suspecting that the fire that broke out in the Nagarahole range of the Nagarahole National Park and Shimoga's Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary was the handiwork of some “vested interests, including lower-level staff of the Department of Forests as well as outsiders,” the State Government has ordered an inquiry into the incidents .
“Definitely, these fires are not natural ones, and are man-made. We are suspecting the role of vested interests, including lower-level forest staff and outsiders,” Minister for Forests C.P. Yogeshwar told presspersons here on Wednesday after receiving a report from the Western Ghats Task Force on conservation and sustainable development of the Western Ghats region.
He said the inquiry would be conducted by senior Forest Department officials and the report was expected to be submitted to the Government in two to three days. “Already top officials of the department have gone to the ravaged areas,” he said.
Pointing out that about 4,000 lower-level staff had been working as casual labourers in the department, he said it had not been possible for the department to regularise their services due to various technical problems. “These people may have nurtured a grouse against the department and are trying to show their anguish against us through such acts,” he said.
Outsiders?
He also suspected that some of outsiders living in the forest fringes, who might have had grudge against a few officials, may also be involved in the incident.
“Soon after the fire episode, I got three to four telephone calls from some people from those areas. They were trying to fix a few officials in the episode by accusing them of not being on the spot. Some of them even used the opportunity to complain that some officials were not good. The manner in which they spoke to me suggested that they have some grudge against a few officials and are only trying to act in vengeance,” the Minister said.
According to him, about 2,000 acres of forest land has been affected by the fire.
Earlier, participating at a meeting of the task force authorities, Additional Chief Secretary, Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, Kaushik Mukherjee said the department would initiate serious action against those responsible for the forest fires. “We have already held consultations with Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda. Will not allow any political interference in the episode,” he said.
The department had introduced a satellite image-guided system for alerting field officials concerned on fires through SMS and emails, he said.
He said fire had been doused in about 200 hectares of forests in the Nagarahole range and 300 hectares in Shettihalli area. Around 300 people had been put on the task of dousing the fire, he added.
