Illicit Felling of 416 tree: Himachal HC order to make recovery from 16 forest and govt officers

Shimla, Apr 24 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh High court directed the state to make the recovery of 416 trees illicitly fell by a person fixing the responsibility of 16 officers in this matter including Secretary Forest of the Government.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice L Narayana Swamy and Justice Anoop Chitkara passed these orders on the petition, taken up suo moto by the Court as Public Interest Litigation.
Court-ordered in the matter related to illicit felling of 416 trees in Forest Range Koti of this district.
HC directed the Principal Secretary (Forests), Government of HP, for computation of recovery of Rs 34,68,233/- from the 16 officers, including two Conservator of Forests, two Divisional Forest Officers, three Assistant Conservator of Forests, two Range Forest Officers, six Block Officers and one Forest Guard, who remained posted at Bhalawag Beat, Koti Forest Block, Koti Forest Range, Shimla Forest Divisions and Shimla Forest Circle with effect from 2015 to 2018.
The Court, however, allowed these officers to appear before the Court on May 27, 2021, if they want themselves to be heard before making the aforesaid recovery and entry of the aforesaid lapse in their service record.
During the course of hearing, it was brought to the notice of the Court by the Amicus Curiae appointed in the matter, that as per Mandatory Field Instructions, it is the mandatory duty on the part of the Range Officer, Assistant Conservator of Forest, Divisional Forest Officer and Deputy Conservator of Forests to carry out field inspection and to detect any felling of trees.
The Range Officer, DFO and CPD should undertake 100 per cent inspection of all the works under their jurisdictions and shall submit a report as per the schedule indicated.
He also stated that in order of Department of Forest Farming and Conservation, HP dated May 4, 1994, the minimum touring days of Conservator of Forests, Divisional Forest Officer, ACF and Range Forest Officer have been specified.
He also stated that instead of initiating action against the higher officers, the action has been initiated only against the officers who are lowest in rank and have been targeted.
The Advocate General submitted that the three officers failed to bring the illegal felling of the trees to the notice of their superiors, therefore, the action was initiated against them.
The Advocate General also stated that Bhoop Ram who is a licensee of a stone crusher has illegally cut 416 trees, the cost of which is Rs 34,68,233/- and out of this amount, the almost entire amount has been recovered and only a sum of approximately Rs 4 lacs is to be recovered.
The Court observed that the State must have recovered the cost of timber, but the value of trees cannot be evaluated as trees are oxygen producer and de-carbonised.
The Court said that the officers who are responsible for this loss of trees of 100 years of age have to be put to task. This kind of illegal and illicit felling of trees cannot be compensated in any manner.
The Court also observed that the Order of Department of Forest Farming and Conservation, Himachal Pradesh dated May 4, 1984, confers a duty on the part of the officer to visit the forest and it should have been treated as mandatory duty.
Where a statute imposes a duty, it is sometimes to be inferred that any person injured as the result of the breach of the duty shall have a remedy in damages, even in the absence of negligence.
When a person has an important duty to perform, he is bound to perform that duty; and if he neglects or refuses to do so, and an individual, in consequence, sustains an injury, that lays the foundation for an action to recover damages by way of compensation.
The duty is cast upon the officer which is an administrative duty and which is not discretionary and failure on the part of the officer to perform the duty is misfeasance which means a failure to do something when there is a legal duty to do especially by a person in authority.
The Court observed that the responsibility of felling of trees is to be fixed from the Forest Guard up to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, as all these officers are responsible for inaction, in terms of Mandatory Field Instructions and Field Touring for the purpose of physical verification.