In the first phase, the forest department has removed 510 illegal shrines, including 453 mazars and 45 temples.
Haldwani. The Forest Department will start the second phase of campaign from today to remove encroachment from the forest land. In this, encroachments on the banks of the rivers will be removed. The Forest Department has identified 23 rivers including Gaula, Ndhaur, Dabka and Kosi.
In Uttarakhand, continuous action is being taken against illegal encroachments in forest areas for more than two months. The Forest Department team is working on a war footing to demolish the encroachment done in the name of Dharmasthala. Till now, a total of 510 illegal religious places have been removed by campaigning. These include 453 mausoleums and 45 temples. So far the forest department has encroached more than 300 hectares of land.
Divisional Forest Officers have been instructed to remove encroachments on forest land in their respective divisions as per the relevant provisions of the Indian Forest Act (Uttarakhand Amendment)-2002. The process of marking and removing illegal shrines is going on by the Forest Department. Nodal Officer Chief Conservator of Forests Parag Madhukar Dhakate told that now the campaign is being started on the banks of the rivers. Settlements are made by the mining laborers on the banks of the river. In the state, 30 to 40 percent possession is on the banks of rivers.
In the state, Gaula, Kho, Sukro, Sheetla, Sharda, Nandhor, Dabka, Kosi, Ganga, Rispana, Chorkhala Nala, Swarnina River, rain drains of Asan, Jakhan, Maldevta, Yamuna, Tons, Sahasradhara, Asan, Malan, Kalsi and Ganga. Encroachment will be removed along the tributaries o
