Matheran losing forest cover

MUMBAI, May 17: Unchecked felling of trees in Matheran has seriously imperilled the fragile eco-systems of the hill station and is fast r...

MUMBAI, May 17: Unchecked felling of trees in Matheran has seriously imperilled the fragile eco-systems of the hill station and is fast robbing it of its forest cover, according to a recent study done by the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage.

In a letter submitted to the forest department secretary on May 6, convenor of the Trust Dev Mehta has highlighted findings of the study and claimed he can even produce video films to prove how Matheran, which is a heritage hill station, has suffered due to large-scale tree-cutting. 8220;If tree-cutting is not stopped immediately, it will cause an environmental disaster soon,8221; he said.

Forest department secretary Satish Tripathi said officials attached to the Alibaug Forest Division have been sent to the hill station to investigate the matter, though preliminary findings suggested tree-cutting was not on a big scale.

However, investigations done by Express Newsline revealed tree-cutting was large-scale and went on unhindered as well. If hugestacks of firewood in the compounds of most Matheran hotels were not a clear enough sign, a large number of adivasis, especially women, carrying headloads of firewood were a pointer to the systematic ecological destruction.

8220;Tree-felling is rampant here,8221; said a local corporator, pointing to the amount of wood placed in front of most settlements at Panchsheel and Indira Nagar near Matheran8217;s main bazaar. Also, forests around all the tourist points reverberated with noises of chopping of wood and falling of trees during quiet hours of the afternoon.

Investigations revealed that most adivasis engaged in tree-felling are from the hamlets of Asalchwadi, Rambaug, Ashechiwadi, Rambaug and Dudhane, which are but a step below the main hill station. On an average, they have been selling nearly 200 headloads of fuelwood every day, each headload weighing 25 kg and fetching Rs 20. A lot of the firewood is transported by suburban trains to Vitthalwadi and Thakurli on Central Railway for the illicit distilleriesoperating there. By conservative estimates, even if 250 headloads of wood were to be cut every day, over 2,281 tonnes of forest cover would be lost per year.

Environmentalists said once the forest cover is lost, it will be tough to get it back because the soil cover at the crest of the mountains is thin.

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While large tracts of forests have already been cleared for construction of hotels and swimming pools, modifications now proposed in Matheran8217;s Development Plan make further allocation of 1,17,000 sq metres of forest land for recreation, amusement parks and swimming pools.

Environmental activist Sameer Mehta said any further destruction of Mathern8217;s ecology will have long-term effects on the thriving tourism industry there.