Prakash Javadekar issues stern warning against sand mining mafia on National Forest Martyrs Day

Paying tributes to martyred forest officials, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday came down heavily on sand mining mafia, saying attacks on revenue or forest officials will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against the culprits.

The remarks come on National Forest Martyrs Day observed for the first time by the environment ministry.

Javadekar, in a virtual interaction, appealed to states to make stern laws to tackle sand mining mafia. In a stern message against the illegal practice, he said the situation will be reviewed and those found not abiding shall be punished.

Expressing deep anguish over the death of a forest staff who was killed by sandalwood smugglers in Rajasthan’s Alwar, the minister said amendments shall be made in regulations so that sandalwood can be cultivated more widely.

“Revenue or forest officials doing their duty are killed. Attacks on them will not be tolerated. We will make strict laws, there will be stringent punishment provisions. This is very important, otherwise our nature will be looted, rivers will dry up,” he tweeted in Hindi.

In another tweet he said, “At @MOEFCC we observed the #ForestMartyrsDay at the national level for the first time, in recognition of forest personnel who sacrificed their lives for the protection of our environment, forest and wildlife.”

Forest home guard Kewal Singh was mowed down by a tractor when he along with his colleague tried to stop suspected members of mining mafia inside the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar in July this year.

The environment minister appealed to the state governments to take the issue of sand mining mafia seriously and impose strict laws to bring an end to the practice.

He appealed that sustainable sand mining must be practised so as to prevent the depletion of natural resources from river beds, the ministry said in a press note.

“In order to prevent the river beds from drying completely, sustainable sand mining must be practised and killings of foresters or revenue staff working towards the initiative of sustainable sand mining is completely unacceptable and that steps will be taken to make sure the offenders are punished,” the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the minister also said that despite the new sustainable sand mining rules and regulations being passed, many states and regions are not abiding by the rules.

This year, families of 25 martyred forest officials have been given the certificate of recognition, it said.

As per the details shared by the ministry, in the year 2019-2020, 25 forest officials have been killed. The reasons for the killings include attack by poachers, sand mafia, mining mafia, leopards, elephants, tigers and sandal smugglers.

Of the 25 deaths, over seven deaths have been reported from Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

Other states where forest officials, including forest watchers, forest guards, drivers, range officers and protection watchers lost their lives are Karnataka, Assam, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and UT Jammu and Kashmir.