Forest Department Lets Illegal Encroachments Replace Greenery; Household Waste, Construction Debris Spread Near Office, Say Labour Party Leaders

Forest Department Lets Illegal Encroachments Replace Greenery; Household Waste, Construction Debris Spread Near Office, Say Labour Party Leaders
Hoshiarpur /Daljeet Ajnoha /June 2
Labour Party leaders Jai Gopal Dhiman, Parveen Kumar, Jaswinder Kumar and Sham Lal on Tuesday strongly condemned what they called the Forest Department’s negligence and collusion by senior officials, saying that garbage is spreading where healthy trees once stood and that canal water and the surrounding environment are being harmed.
They said the misuse is occurring on land under the department’s control, whose duty is to preserve tree cover. Under regulations, waste must not be dumped within 100 metres of a canal. Dhiman noted that the Central Pollution Control Board and the Punjab Pollution Control Board have issued strict directions prohibiting the dumping of household waste and construction material near canals, along roadsides and in tree-covered areas. He added that, paradoxically, some forest department officials are allowing such illegal dumping next to their own offices on land that could otherwise support a large number of trees.
“The department instructs the public to follow rules but is itself violating them,” he said, warning that the accumulated waste is hazardous to the environment, public health and nearby crops and fruit trees. Dhiman also alleged that foul sewage water stands near the department premises, further damaging trees.
He said that due to the department’s laxity, the lush green land along the canal is rapidly being degraded and that several areas are being illegally occupied. The department, he alleged, is so negligent that it only performs token cleaning, erects small fences and occasionally plants a few trees. Governments and the National Green Tribunal have repeatedly warned about declining tree cover, but the forest department remains indifferent, he added.
Dhiman said the department could have planted millions of trees along the canal and turned the stretch into a 40-kilometre green belt. “There was a time when the canal’s banks were verdant,” he said. “Now, with the department’s tacit approval, many encroachments have appeared and some people are even using the land for commercial purposes.”
He blamed the loss of greenery around Punjab’s canals for contributing to rising temperatures across the state, citing large-scale deforestation, shrinking forest areas and corruption within the department. Despite crores of rupees allocated to the department, political interference has, he claimed, undermined efforts. He also held environmental experts’ vested interests partly responsible for the damage Punjab has suffered over the past 50 years.
Dhiman said he has written to the National Green Tribunal seeking action to remove the waste dumped along the canal and restore tree-covered areas.