Panaji, May 23 (PTI) The Goa government has started an inquiry into the destruction of forest cover at Vagheri Hill in Sattari taluka, a part of the Western Ghats, state forest minister Vishwajit Rane said on Monday.
Releasing Google images of the destruction, Rane tweeted, “I would like to draw attention to how illegalities have occurred. Looking at the two images, we can see that the hill at Vagheri has been cleared from the top, but no report has been filed. This is done by a few landowners who have sold their property to outsiders.” “The whole point is to show the people how the canopy has been removed. This was brought to my attention using satellite and Google imagery. I will instruct the department to adopt this technique to monitor eco-sensitive areas every 15 days,” he said in another tweet.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, the Chief Conservator of Forest, North and South Deputy Conservators of Forest and a member secretary will lead an investigation on the systematic forest canopy clearance and they will submit a report as soon as possible, Rane informed.
He added that a nodal officer will be appointed in the state forest department to monitor and act against such violations. PTI RPS BNM BNM
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Source: The Print
