Forest minister beaks silence on illegal tree felling

SHIMLA: Having remained under attack from the opposition on the issue of illegal tree felling in Himachal Pradesh, forest minister Thakur Singh Bharmauri finally broke his silence on Thursday to defend the state government. "Strict action was taken against the officers who showed lackadaisical approach in controlling the illegal axing of trees as soon as it came to the notice of the government," he claimed on Thursday.
After raising the issue during the winter session of assembly, leader of opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal on Wednesday had again accused the state government of failing on this front. Dhumal had said that forest mafia was active in the state under government patronage. Dhumal had also sought the resignation of forest minister to ensure an impartial probe.
Bharmauri said that BJP was trying to distract the attention of the people from their wrongdoings during their regime. Expressing concern over the statement issued by Dhumal demanding his resignation, the minister said that there mass illicit felling during the BJP regime. "More than 11,000 trees were axed during their tenure," he claimed.
The minister said that the government was committed to conserving its forest wealth and strict action would be initiated against those involved in illegal axing of forest trees. "No matter how influential a person may be we will take action. Even so far, the government has acted swiftly whenever such issues came to its notice and also ordered inquiry into tree felling in Nalagarh," he added.