Admn fudged records on tree cover in UT

Former head of the landscape wing of Chandigarh and Punjab,H S Johl,has written to Union Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh asking him to depute a team to investigate and resolve certain environment issues pertaining to Chandigarh.

Former head of the landscape wing of Chandigarh and Punjab,H S Johl,has written to Union Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh asking him to depute a team to investigate and resolve certain environment issues pertaining to Chandigarh.

In his representation,Johl has also highlighted threat to Sukhna Lake. The lake is decreasing in size and the silt content has increased over the years. Owing to poor management,Sukhna Lake lost 66 per cent of its area as well as water storage capacity, he said.

The representation further states that the UT Administration had been fudging important statistics and misreporting the same to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). As per the Forest Survey of India (FSI) Report 2005,the forest and tree cover of Chandigarh is 21.05 per cent,which has been consistent at this level for several years now. However,Chandigarh Administration claims that the same is at 35.7 per cent and increasing consistently. The data about trees planted has allegedly been fudged.

Johl has demanded that punitive action be taken against the officials of the UT Administration for misrepresentation of important statistical figures pertaining to forest cover,tree plantation etc.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram