He added that he has asked everyone from BMC to police to even the forest department to carry out investigations in the matter related to deforestation, destruction of nature as well as those behind setting the fire.
Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam on Thursday, during a a site inspection of the Goregaon hillocks where almost 20 hectares of grassland patch was burnt in a massive fire on December 3, not only said that the entire fire incident seemed suspicious and raised several questions but also ordered a detailed probe into it.
"During the site visit, several glaring facts came to the fore as a lot of bushes, plants and smaller trees seemed to have been cut. Also, the entire hillock has a huge boundary wall and there are security guards present so there is a very little possibility of someone coming from outside and setting fire," said Kadam.
He added that he has asked everyone from BMC to police to even the forest department to carry out investigations in the matter related to deforestation, destruction of nature as well as those behind setting the fire.
Kadam also informed that during the site inspection, when he asked the Tehsildar to show the land records, he was told that the land has not been measured nor surveyed and there were no maps. "My question to him was that if it has not been then on what basis can someone construct boundary walls and set up private security? Now that I have visited the site, I will ensure that all the facts about the fire and the land is brought on record," he said.
Environmentalists, too, alleged that the fact that the minister was told that this land has not been surveyed and there seems to be no record of it itself makes the violations evident along with the involvement of authourities.
"We had even written a letter in 2015 to the forest department as well as Konkan Divisional commissioner about how the land here was being de-forested and hills being flattened, yet no action was taken on my complaint nor was I called for any site visit till date. This land is part of the forest land," said environmentalist Stalin D, alleging that the fire is just the tip of the iceberg as there is a major land scam that needs to be investigated.
HOW CITIZENS CAN HELP
- Pawan Sharma, Wildlife Warden for Thane, said that the need of the hour was also to have several teams of trained citizen volunteers who are capable of helping the forest department in fighting massive forest fires
- “We would suggest the department to begin workshops for training interested citizens as well as members of NGO’s and wildlife lovers to help the department manage such fires,” he said
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