Land mafia thriving under the protection of the ranger, forest department remains silent!
Wadrafnagar. In Tuguan village under the Raghunathnagar forest range, land mafias are continuously encroaching on hundreds of acres of government forest land. Local villagers say that forest land has been systematically encroached upon for a long time, but the responsible department is turning a blind eye. According to the villagers, trees are being illegally cut down in the forest, and the timber is being used to construct more than 30 mud houses. This construction work is being carried out openly, which clearly indicates that the land mafias are receiving protection at some level. The villagers allege that land mafias from other states are also playing an active role in these illegal activities, intimidating and threatening local people to seize the land.
The villagers said that they have complained about this entire matter to the forest department officials several times, both in writing and verbally, but no concrete action has been taken so far. Neither have the illegal encroachments been removed nor has the illegal logging been stopped. This has caused great anger among the villagers. They say that if action is not taken in time, the very existence of the entire forest area will be in danger. The villagers have directly accused the forest department of collusion with the land mafias. They say that the inaction of the departmental officials raises suspicion, and the apprehension is growing that such large-scale encroachment on forest land is not possible without internal support. The villagers also alleged that some employees, despite being aware of the illegal construction, do not visit the site.
This case has raised serious questions regarding environmental and forest conservation. If the felling and encroachment of forests continue in this manner, problems such as water scarcity, displacement of wildlife, and environmental imbalance may arise in the region in the future. The villagers have demanded that the district administration and the state government conduct a high-level inquiry into the entire matter, take strict action against the guilty officials and land mafia, and immediately remove the illegal encroachments. They have also demanded that regular patrolling and surveillance be strengthened in the forest area. Now it remains to be seen how seriously the administration takes this grave matter and how soon concrete steps are taken to free the valuable forest land from the clutches of the land mafia.
