Over 80 Percent Forests Encroached, Uttarakhand Battles To Save Its Hills

Dehradun: More than 80 per cent of the reserve forests in Uttarakhand, especially in the Tarai division of Kumaon, are under the grip of illegal encroachment despite an ongoing four-year-old drive to save the forests. Several cases related to the encroachment have reached the courts, compounding the situation.

Uttarakhand — known as the 'Devbhoomi' (Land of the Gods) and a lush, verdant hill state — is today fighting a battle to save its very own forests. The statistics clearly reveal the depth of the problem and the sluggish pace at which it is being addressed.

As per the data available, over 11,396.63 hectares of reserve forests in Uttarakhand have been encroached upon. Out of this, illegal occupation still remains on nearly 9,836 hectares. This implies that despite the campaigns conducted in recent years, more than 70 per cent of the forest land is still under encroachment.

According to sources, so far a total of 1,560.31 hectares of land have been reclaimed from encroachment. However, this figure is extremely low — indicating that the enforcement at the ground level is not proceeding at the expected pace. The highest encroachment is in the Tarai East forest division, where 5,982 hectares of forest land are under illegal occupation. Then comes the Terai West forest division, where 2,629 hectares of forests are under illegal occupation.

The geographical nature of the Terai region, especially its flat terrain, fertile soil and easy accessibility render it particularly vulnerable to encroachment. In the Terai East division, against the 5,982 hectares under occupation, only 214 hectares have been successfully reclaimed.

In the Terai West division, against the 2,629.15 hectares under occupation, only 558.96 hectares have been cleared of encroachment. Apart from the Terai region, several other forest divisions are also grappling with encroachment.

In the Badrinath forest division, 937 hectares of forests have been encroached upon, of which 247.55 hectares have been reclaimed. In the Dehradun forest division, encroachment was detected on 593 hectares, yet only 26.35 hectares could be cleared.

The forest department is now poised to leverage technology to tackle the issue. The department is currently developing an AI-based tracking system designed to monitor cases related to encroachment. This will enable digital tracking of pending court cases at the divisional level. Moreover, it will provide real-time information regarding the location and status of encroachments.

According to experts, deforestation resulting from encroachment causes damage to biodiversity and leads to the destruction of natural wildlife habitats, thereby escalating human-animal conflict. The encroachment also adversely affects water sources and climatic equilibrium.

However, it is also essential to mobilise Forest Protection Committees at the village-level to ensure effective monitoring in rural areas as well.

"These encroachments are not a recent phenomenon. People have been encroaching these areas for years. While efforts are currently underway to remove the existing encroachments, no new encroachments will be permitted under any circumstances," said Uttarakhand forest minister Subodh Uniyal.

Parag Madhukar Dhakate, who has been appointed as the nodal officer to tackle illegal encroachments, said: "There are numerous cases of illegal encroachment currently pending in the courts. Tracking these cases and obtaining timely updates on them often proves to be a challenge. Therefore, a more effective coordination mechanism will be set up with the aid of Artificial Intelligence."

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