How Jungles are destroyed

[Paramvir Singh]

Destroying a jungle is fairly easy, since no one seems to care. In my numerous drives around Maharashtra, the common trend is to burn the jungles repeatedly so the land can be declared 'wasteland' and then sold to 'real estate'. See attached images.

This image, of poor quality as it was shot with a zoomed in phone camera, you can see the smoke coming out from the hill forest and also vast stretches of barren hill.

[Paramvir Singh]

And in this image you can see the whole line where forest ends and barren land starts. Apologies for poor image quality, zoomed in phone cameras in both cases,

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

We have no escape from the inevitable that some forests will be cleared for infrastructure needs but it should only happen when other alternatives, say diversions, are not feasible ; condition precedent will be 'more areas should be brought under National Park/ Tiger Reserve/ Wildlife corridor ' status. Plantation on barren land must be with indigenous trees, grasses etc. which were originally there since time immemorial.
These replanted area should be left alone for 4-5 years, nature itself will take care.

Only one naturalist can make many improvements. Our Hon'ble Courts are very much concerned about environment.
Fortunately, in West Bengal we have at least one such dedicated professional who has made remarkable contribution for saving inter-alia, the vast wetland of Kolkata.

Thanks for sharing.
SaktiWild