Some of the villagers of Ura-Dozhi chiwog in Bumthang are not happy with supposed illegal tree felling activity in a large expanse of forest above their village. The villagers allege that the illegal activity has been ongoing for almost four years now. They are now concerned that the activity is spreading towards the chiwog’s drinking water source.
About 30 minutes walk uphill of the chiwog, three men who reported to BBS about the alleged illegal tree felling issue showed us the area where the alleged crime is ongoing. They showed hundreds of tree stumps without markings that have been supposedly cut down, illegally. Some stumps have been covered with dried leaves to conceal the mischief.
Dorji Penjor, a villager from Ura_Dozhi said, “Trees from only about two acres of private land were sold from the area, all other trees cut down are illegal. Forest officials might deny the allegation but all the villagers here know the truth. Trucks and tractors are deployed in the forest to transport timber.If the foresters say the activities here are legitimate, a proper investigation would establish the truth and all the villagers here bear witness to the fact.”
The complainants also claim that an agreement was drawn up between the Phrumsengla National Park and the people of Ura_Dozhi chiwog a decade ago restricting timber extraction from the area.
“The agreement prohibits logging activities in the forest between Korila and Serkem as our chiwog’s drinking water sources are located in the area. The current Gup said he couldn’t find the agreement and the park officials said the same. We are losing lots of trees around the two water sources, so there is no other means for us than to complain about the issue,” said Damchoe, another villager from Ura_Dozhi.
A complaint letter was filed to the Phrumsengla National Park in January requesting the office to revisit the agreement. The letter also accused a man for having carried out most of the alleged illegal timber extraction from the area.
Sangayla, a villager said “New logging roads are made. This is one of them and there are four more. So many trees, both diseased and healthy are cut down making the land barren. Though the man must be having permits for firewood but that doesn’t mean he is allowed to saw planks out of trees and sell. He has been getting timber permits for so many years now.”
The Chief Forestry Officer (CFO) of the Phrumsengla National Park acknowledged the existence of illegal logging activities in the area and said that it is very challenging to detect all the cases as the area is too large. The park intercepted 22 cases last year and settled 18 of them. However, he said some of the allegations are baseless such as the loss of trees from the drinking water source. According to him, a foresters’ team visited the water source and found out that timber permits were allotted 100 feet away from the source as per the Forest and Nature Conservation Rules and Regulations.
He also added that the park had to allow clear felling of trees and allot them as firewood since most trees in the area were infested by bark beetles. Regarding the agreement that restricts timber extraction from the area, both Ura Gup and the CFO said they couldn’t find the document as it was signed during the tenure of past office-bearers.
Kipchu, Bumthang
