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Action taken against forest officials after 1 lakh trees were set on fire

At last, action against forest officials for their negligence towards one lakh trees that were set on fire in an Ambernath village last week, gained momentum. The forest department suspended an officer and ordered an inquiry against the deputy conservator forest officer. The department also clarified that 12,655 trees were affected in the fire, out of which 50 per cent can be saved.

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At last, action against forest officials for their negligence towards one lakh trees that were set on fire in an Ambernath village last week, gained momentum. The forest department suspended an officer and ordered an inquiry against the deputy conservator forest officer. The department also clarified that 12,655 trees were affected in the fire, out of which 50 per cent can be saved.

Thane district's dream to be the greenest was brutally murdered when some anti-social elements set one lakh trees on fire at Mangrool village in Malanggad, Ambernath, on November 14 and 15. According to Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde, the fire affected 70 per cent or one lakh trees which were planted in July 2017 with the help of 15,000 people on 80 acre of land. Shinde made arrangements for water to douse the flames. He further said that the forest department should post guards and build a boundary wall to protect the trees.

Shinde met the chief conservator officer Rajendra Kadam in Thane, on November 19, and demanded an inquiry into the matter. "A similar incident had occurred in December 2017, where 20,000 trees were set on fire. It happened last week again and the forest department does not seem to be taking it seriously," Shinde said.

The MP also said that the trees were deliberately set on fire to benefit land mafias and brick-kiln owners. "If these trees grow and become a forest, kiln owners will run at a shortage of mud to make bricks. Land mafias will not have enough land to encroach. Hence, they set the trees on fire and the forest department is hand in glove with them," Shinde alleged. "We also demand a third-party audit of all the trees planted in the the district under various drives," he added.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also demanded an inquiry in the matter, on Sunday. Meanwhile, the forest department suspended Chandrakant Shelke, regional forest officer (RFO), Badlapur, and also initiated an inquiry against Dr Jitendra Ramgaokar, deputy conservator of forest. "We will send the inquiry report within a week to the state government," Rajendra Kadam said.

Kadam, however, refuted charges of the department favouring land and brick-kiln mafias. "The land is so big, we never thought anyone would do it deliberately. We have a guard there and will now increase security and post more men to guard the area," he added.

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