Raipur. The Forest Department is continuously taking action to prevent incidents of poaching in the state’s forest areas. In many cases, offenders are apprehended, but sometimes, due to a lack of knowledge of legal provisions, forest officials are unable to prepare strong cases against them, allowing them to easily escape.
Legal Literacy Workshop and Training Program
To avoid such situations and ensure effective action, legal literacy training programs are being organized for Forest Department employees under the leadership of Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap and the direction of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Mr. Arun Kumar Pandey. In December, a one-day legal literacy workshop and training program was organized in the auditorium of the Forest Division Office, Durg, under the “Protect Today and Secure Tomorrow” project. This program, organized in collaboration with the District Legal Services Authority (NALSA), featured Mr. Chandrakar, Counselor of the District Court, Durg, as the keynote speaker.
Strict legal action can be taken against forest and wildlife offenders.
The objective of this training is to provide forest personnel with clear understanding of forest laws, rules, and regulations, so that cases can be strengthened and strict legal action can be taken against offenders. To this end, information on periodically amended rules and legal provisions is provided through workshops.
Information on legal procedures related to reserved and protected forests was provided.
During the program, key provisions of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 were specifically discussed. Experts explained the legal provisions and departmental action procedures related to reserved and protected forests in simple language. Information was also provided on measures to prevent and control forest crimes in revenue areas. In a special training session, NALSA experts provided practical advice on the “do’s and don’ts” related to court case management, enabling forest personnel to properly follow legal procedures. On this occasion, all the executive and regional officers and employees of the Forest Division including Forest Range Officer Durg and Dhamdha were present, who were trained to be legally alert for the protection of wildlife and forest wealth.
