Hyderabad: The forest department is going to spread awareness among citizens and government staff working on the fringes of forest areas that they too have a responsibility under the law to protect forests in the state.
According to Section 22 of the AP Forest Act 1967, these people are identified as: ‘Every person who exercises any right in a reserved forest, or who is permitted to take any forest produce and every village officer or person in any village contiguous to such forest who is employed.’
The Act further says that if they fail to report incidents ‘after having knowledge about the incident, they are punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month.’
According to Article 51-A (g) of Constitution of India, ‘It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.’
Forest department officials want to remind government employees and forest right holders about the forest law which can send them to prison for a period of one month. Speaking to this newspaper, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (IT) P. Raghuveer, said, “We have initiated awareness camps informing about the laws. Forest fire is one of the reasons forests are being damaged. About 95 per cent of forest fires are man-made in Telangana. The government staff working in forest areas and the right holders have a responsibility to protect the forest and should inform and assist the forest department in protecting the forests. We are reminding them of their responsibilities.”
