THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj August 18: Medininagar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Satyam Kumar wants better living for people as it ensures better growth of forests.
Biotic pressure is tremendous on forests, either for timber or for dry firewood. The highly trumpeted Ujjawala Yojana has faded out of the kitchen of the poor who fail to afford a domestic LPG cylinder @ 930 at doorstep.
This correspondent spoke with Satyam Kumar to know how he plans to go for afforestation and other forest-related works. Here are the excerpts of the interview
Q: What is your preference when it’s an afforestation?
SK: Native species are to be promoted. See, cashew is planted in the Jamshedpur region, but here in Palamu, cashew will be a misfit.
Q: Native species mean kathal, jamun etc. You mean?
SK: Yes, kathal, jamun, aounla, mahua etc we mean. It will help people living around the jungles.
Q: What about the timber wood?
SK: It’s very much with us. Our forests will have high-value timber trees.
Also Read- Four Naxals surrender in Chhattisgarh
Q: Should afforestation be done in every inch of the forest land?
SK: It’s a wrong notion. There must be adequate patches of grassland. There must be meadows and pastures. After all, where will the cattle of the farmers go grazing? So we need grasslands.
Q: Nilgais are a major menace now. How do you see this problem?
SK: It’s a real big issue. We have tried to redress or minimize this issue of Nilgais intruding into farmers’ cultivation of veggies. We have built a water body in the protected forest at Loinga. Here is developed grassland. I am told herds of Nilgais come every evening. Retain Nilgais with food and water for them. There is no other way to check their entry into human habitation.
Q: Afforestation creates Man Days. How is it here?
SK: We have created 42,000 man-days so far. Our wage system is very strict. We follow the government’s guidelines.
Q: Do you have your nurseries?
SK: Yes, we have. It’s in Paton, Chhaterpur and Chainpur.
Q: Stone mafias pose an enormous threat to the lives of your forest personnel, forest property and underground water table. What is your view?
SK: Stone mafias are a big threat to forest personnel, forest and underground water. They mint money in utter disregard of the forest and environment. These mafias believe themselves to be Law unto themselves. They are destroying the underground water table.
Q: Prime forest lands are encroached upon. Multi lakhs buildings come up on the forest land. Is this not?
SK: We take stringent action against such encroachers. Cases are lodged. Eviction order is passed. There is one big case facing the heat of the forest act.
Also Read- Low-pressure system to trigger heavy rains and thunderstorms in Jharkhand
Q: Afforestation is done with great fanfare. But the very next day everyone who had participated in the plantation drive forgets about the plantation.
SK: We believe people should have love and respect for the plants that they have put in the pit.
Q: There is mortality of plants. It dies prematurely, at least 10 per cent of them.
SK: There is the mortality of the plants. We do replace such with healthy ones. Medininagar Forest Division is striving for greater greener Palamu.
