Saving Punjab’s trees

The Punjab Government is banking on technology to keep tabs on the timber mafia and curb the menace of illegal felling. The state Forest Department is implanting radio frequency identification chips on khair trees in the lower Shivalik hills of Mohali district along the state’s borders with Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. If this pilot project achieves the desired results, it will be extended to other trees and other districts as well. The forest authorities, which are finding it tough to maintain surveillance due to a lack of CCTV cameras, are hopeful that any movement or loss of signal from the chip will alert them about suspicious activities.

This is a laudable initiative to safeguard the state’s forest and tree wealth and deter timber smugglers. Findings of the India State of Forest Report 2023, released in December last year, are a mixed bag for Punjab. Its forest cover fell by 0.45 square km in two years (2021-23), while the tree cover increased notably by 177.22 square km. However, there is no room for complacency as the state government has repeatedly found itself in the crosshairs of the National Green Tribunal over alleged laxity in cracking down on illegal axing. Punjab needs to get its act together as the growth trajectory of its tree cover over a decade-long period (2013-23) has been dismal compared to that of other northern states/UTs such as Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

Last month, the Supreme Court had scathingly observed that cutting a large number of trees was worse than killing human beings, while imposing a fine of Rs 1 lakh each for the 454 trees that had been cut without permission in Uttar Pradesh’s protected Taj Trapezium Zone. The SC’s zero-tolerance approach to felling should serve as a wake-up call for Punjab as well. Technology can play a key role in building deterrence, but it should be backed by a firm resolve to catch and penalise offenders.

Editorials