Dehradun: Learning no lessons from the past, wildlife officials in Uttarakhand continue to be on the defensive and in denial of an alarming spurt in incidents of poaching in the hill state.
When TOI spoke with DVS Khati, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), about the seizure of a leopard skin and 72 antlers from poachers in Uttarkashi, the official, who was in Delhi, denied that it was a poaching incident and said the case was related to smuggling of charas.
On the contrary, chief conservator of forests and head of anti-poaching cell Dhananjay Mohan admitted the recovery of leopard skin (from the bags left behind the poachers) in Uttarkashi late on Wednesday night. Senior forest official SP Subudhi, who was in Uttarkashi, said the forest department had nothing to do with the case even if leopard skins or antlers were recovered. "It is the police which has to deal with this and not the forest department," he said.
Notably, the forest department had recently sought a major hike in its funds for intelligence gathering related to poaching cases, which was sanctioned by the state government. In March, the state government substantially increased the 'secret fund' for gathering intelligence related to poaching cases in the wildlife habitats from Rs 1 lakh a year to Rs 25 lakh. The intelligence funds are used to reward the informers and the jump is expected to strengthen the informers' network in the state. The forest department had drawn a lot of flak after a poacher from Bawaria gang was held by the Uttarakhand police in Haridwar with five tiger skins, bones and skulls, in the largest such seizure in the state. Four of the tiger skins belonged to big cats from Corbett. Earlier in January, seven leopard skins were seized by police in Pauri district.
Paramjeet Singh, who was head of anti-poaching cell from 2003-11 and nabbed around 250 poachers in his tenure, said, "It is the local residents in Uttarkashi who are involved in poaching. They kill wildlife animals through poisoning or trapping them and then beating them to death with canes and rods. Under my tenure, I caught the accused in 6-7 cases, and seized leopard and tiger skins, musk pods and bile of Himalayan bear."
A senior wildlife conservationist who did not wish to be named said, "Senior wildlife officials are usually found touring the country, attending high-profile conferences in India and abroad. But they appear ignorant (about poaching incidents) or are often seen concealing facts. This is very unfortunate for the protection of wildlife in the state."
