Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): To curb increasing forest encroachment and illegal activities, Bhopal Collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh has chaired a meeting of the District Level Task Force of the Forest Department. Others at Monday’s meeting were District Forest Officer (DFO) Alok Pathak, rangers from Samardha, Bairasia, and Nazirabad, along with senior rural police officials.
The meeting focused on key issues such as evicting encroachers, curbing illegal excavation, tree-felling, and regulating vehicular movement in tiger-sensitive zones during night hours in forest lands of the district.
Singh also reviewed the implementation of decisions made by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and emphasised the need to enforce a ban on land transactions involving forest land transferred from Farist to Rajrav in villages including Agoni, Samardha, and Prempura.
A report presented to the Collector revealed that notices have been issued to four individuals for allegedly encroaching on forest land —two in Nazirabad and two in Bairasia.
DFO Alok Pathak confirmed the department’s commitment to strict enforcement and added that another review meeting, chaired by the Berasia SDM, will be held on Wednesdayto finalise further actions.
Pathak stated that a time limit for the movement of heavy vehicles in tiger-visited zones is under serious consideration to protect wildlife and ensure safety.
Following the review meeting, a final decision will be taken by the Collector, after which jointenforcement teams will be deployed to take action against encroachers and other illegal operations.
Inter-department meeting
Collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh told the Free Press that an inter-departmental meeting with the officials of forest, revenue, mining, and police was held to discuss a plan of action on the points which were put forth by the forest department.
