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The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Una, to file a detailed affidavit explaining the alleged large-scale illegal transportation of forest produce from the state, observing that there is nothing on record to indicate the volume of timber being taken out of Himachal Pradesh or the quantity and species of trees allegedly being passed off as legally permitted forest produce.
The directions came from a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin C. Negi while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation arising from a communication alleging illegal tree felling and timber smuggling in Tehsil Gagret of Una district. The Bench also directed the Secretary, District State Legal Services Authority (DSLA), Una, to conduct periodic visits to the Gagret forest check-post and submit an independent status report to the court, while also making efforts to contact the original complainant. According to the court order, the communication received on March 8, 2026, was accompanied by GPS-tagged photographs purportedly showing small and large trucks loaded with trees felled from forests in Gagret. The complainant alleged that despite approaching the Forest Department, no action was taken, and those who recorded the videos were instead threatened with criminal action. During the hearing, the State informed the court that an FIR had been registered under the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the user of a mobile number and administrators of an associated social media page for allegedly creating public mischief. The Bench noted that the Gagret forest check-post on National Highway-03 at the Himachal Pradesh-Punjab border is a major transit point for legally permitted forest produce. The State submitted that GPS-tagged photographs showed vehicles crossing the check-post between 5:18 a.m. and 6:40 a.m. on February 28 and March 2, 2026, transporting legally permitted forest produce, including Safeda, Poplar, Bamboo, Japani Toot and Licinia, to the Hoshiarpur timber market. The court recorded that 69 vehicles carrying open-species forest produce were checked and allowed to proceed after verification of valid transit permits. However, it also noted the State's admission that 149 vehicles were involved in illegal transportation of forest produce, including 102 vehicles in Amb Range alone, allegedly transporting unauthorised forest produce. The Dehra Forest Division had separately apprehended 15 vehicles involved in illegal transportation within its jurisdiction. Referring to the State's response, the Bench observed that the material placed before it did not disclose how much forest produce was allegedly being taken out of Himachal Pradesh, the overall movement of vehicles transporting timber, or the species of trees allegedly being shown as legally permitted produce. Consequently, the High Court directed the DFO, Una, to place a comprehensive affidavit on record addressing these aspects. It also took note of a newspaper report published in The Himachal Tribune regarding the alleged illegal felling of Khair trees in the area and ordered that an earlier PIL concerning tree cutting in the same region be listed along with the present case. The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 13, 2026, along with the connected public interest litigation. (ANI)
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