Uttarakhand Forest Fires: Supreme Court Slams Government
The Supreme Court of India has criticized the Uttarakhand government for insufficient funds and assigning state forest officials to Lok Sabha election duties amid the ongoing forest fire situation. Since November 1, 2022, the hilly state has been grappling with hundreds of active wildfires, damaging approximately 1,145 hectares of forest.
The apex court also slammed the Indian government for granting only 3.15 crore to deal with the forest fires against a demand of 10 crore. The court also demanded an explanation from the Centre why forest officials in Uttarakhand had been assigned Lok Sabha Elections duties.
On May 8, the Supreme Court asked the government to take preventative measures to control the forest fires instead of relying on ‘rain gods’ or cloud seeding.
Chief Minister’s ‘Pirul Lao-Paise Pao’ Campaign
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s ‘Pirul Lao-Paise Pao’ campaign gained momentum on Wednesday, as villagers participated in the initiative and collected ‘Pirul’ in Dehradun. The campaign aims to reduce forest fires by collecting and utilizing dry pine needles.
Uttarakhand’s five Lok Sabha seats voted in the first phase on April 19. At least five people have died in the Uttarakhand forest fires, and four individuals have been arrested for allegedly setting fire to the range forest in Pithoragarh district.
