The fight against the illegalities of the ashram has been going on since 2004 after Debi Goenka
Under fire from the recent Supreme Court (SC) order asking the state government to demolish the Balyogi Shri Sadanand Maharaj Ashram inside Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (TWLS), the forest department, which on multiple occasions had failed to carry out demolitions, claims to be readying a foolproof plan this time around to completely demolish all the illegal structures violating forest act.
The fight against the illegalities of the ashram has been going on since 2004 after Debi Goenka, head of Conservation Act Trust (CAT) first filed an application in the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) seeking action against the ashram for several violations including encroaching in forest land.
The CEC, in 2009, even recommended demolitions of all encroachments but the forest department failed in carrying out demolitions despite issuing several eviction notices. However, in the meantime, more violations by the ashram continued including regular widening and repairs of roads as well as construction activities, which are prohibited in the protected forest. It was then in January 2019 that Goenka filed an application citing the destruction of flora and fauna inside the protected sanctuary seeking implementation of the recommendations by CEC.
A senior forest official from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) said that they were minutely planning the entire strategy to carry out the demolition operation.
"In the past, mobs have not only stopped demolitions but also attacked our staff and even blocked traffic on highways forcing us to leave. We have to keep all this in mind and plan our strategy accordingly as we know this will not be a cakewalk for us due to the huge following of the Baba," said the official adding that they will need a huge number of police force including State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), riot control police and forest department staff to pull off the demolitions of the structures in around 0.69 hectares of land.
The official added that once they finish planning out and listing the resources required, they will submit the plan to the State Government for approval.
Krishna Tiwari, founder, Forest and Wildlife Conservation Society said that there were all sorts of violations carried out by the ashram, which now has multiple structures, shops, temples and a road that is repaired every year causing not only irreparable damage to the forest but also these activities, which are banned in forest area poses serious disturbances to the wildlife. "The State government will have to provide forest department with full back up so that this time they can return only after carrying out complete demolitions. It's obvious a huge force would be required to prevent law and order situation but it's high time its done," he said.
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