Teak is smuggled from Maharashtra to Telangana via roads and Indravati river.
To combat illegal timber and wildlife trade that denudes the state's forests, the Maharashtra government had joined hands with the neighbouring states of Telangana and Chhattisgarh. In an inter-state meeting of forest officials from the three states at Bhopalpatnam in Chhattisgarh last week, it was decided that intelligence sharing and establishing inter-state check-post would help prevent smuggling of contraband through road and rivers.
The issue of illicit tree felling and smuggling in Gadchiroli district was taken up at the meeting. Between 2010 and 2017, the Sironcha division alone has seen 17,637 instances of the illicit felling of teak trees, the value of which is estimated at Rs 14,87,59,622. The estimated value of teak seizures between 2000 and 2016 is around Rs 51,70,10,724.
"Teak is smuggled from Maharashtra to Telangana via roads and Indravati river. Though we have camps on our side of the river, there was no such mechanism in Telangana, which affected the way in which we controlled the trade," said Tushar Chavan, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Sironcha forest division.
Now Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Telangana would ensure a co-ordinated response to these smugglers, he said. Dr Ayyaz Tamboli, district collector of Bijapur had proposed to set up a protection camp on Indravati river in Chhattisgarh to prevent timber smuggling.
"An inter-state check-post will be established at Timed in Chhattisgarh. We will undertake night-patrolling to crackdown on the transport of teak logs through bullock carts using smaller roads," said Chavan, adding that they have also started tracking the phones of the smugglers.
Apart from Sironcha, Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) and Jayashankar Bhupalpally (Telangana) were among the areas affected by illegal trading, said Chavan.
"We are taking measures to increase awareness and prevent poaching and wildlife smuggling, especially pangolin and wild buffalos," he noted, adding that staff was also being trained in wildlife crime detection, precautions and information collection.
Last year, the three states had launched joint patrolling for forest staff and also shared information about the places of conflict like Pendalaya, Asarali (Sironcha Division) and Matimarka, Maded Buffer Range (Indravati Tiger Reserve). Protection camps have been established, including one by Maharashtra at the Somnur confluence with staff from all the three states.
However, constraints like inaccessible terrain, manpower shortages, poor communication facilities, language barriers and Naxalism inhibit the response to the menace.
Rampant Rackets
- Sironcha forest is spread over a sprawling area of 3,151 sq km. It includes reserved forests (2445.938 sq km), protected forests (331.914 sq km), and FDCM area (161.221 sq km). It has two major rivers, Indravati and Pranhita.
- Timber rackets are rampant inthe area.
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 "Timber Smuggling")
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