Confiscation of 23 cubic meter illegal wood worth about Rs 8 lakh.
Raipur, 19 September 2020. The Forest Department is continuously campaigning for the prevention of forest crimes across the state under the direction of the Minister of Forests Mr. Mohammad Akbar. Under this, a saw mill and a furniture mart have been sealed due to flaws found during the investigation under Van Mandal Raigad within a week from 14 September till now. Among these, R.K. Furniture and Timber Raigarh and Sanjay Saw Mill located at Moudhapara Road in Raigad itself.
Under the guidance of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Shri Rakesh Chaturvedi, the team constituted as per the instructions of Forest Officer, Raigarh Shri Manoj Pandey, continues to conduct intensive investigation by reaching the mills. During the investigation by the team, strict action is being taken against the concerned for illegal operation of saw mills or if illegal logs are found there. In this episode, on September 18, the investigation by the team found that a trolley was being installed by the Sanjay Saw Ara saw mill operator of Raigad without permission. It was allowed to operate only sawing machines, not trolleys. Due to this the power saw machine and trolley running without permission has been sealed. Saw trolley and 15 HP by Sanjay Saw Mill without permission. Was being operated with a motor, which is illegal. They are licensed by the merchant, but they were being worked illegally even though the manufacturer was not licensed. Similarly, Sanjay Saw Mill’s individual hammer was registered for the year 2016, but the refusal to renew the same was being used illegally. Due to this, Sanjay Saw Mill is sealed and a letter has been sent to the Electricity Department for its power break.
On examining the records in Sanjay Saw Mill, it was found that by him R.K. Martyr and Timber has been churning forest produce from Raigad. Last day by the team, R.K. Mart and Timber was also raided at Umbrella in Ara mill. On the spot there was found to be storage of illegal wood of about 153 cubic logs of the year without hammer mark and 11 pieces of seedlings totaling 23 cubic meters, which has been seized by the Forest Department on the spot and stored in the sale cell Urdana. The estimated value of the captured wood is about 8 lakh rupees. In the said action, the staff of Forest Zone Officer-in-charge, Mr. Rajeshwar Mishra and Mr. Deenbandhu Pradhan and Mr. Govardhan Rathore, etc., of the Udandasta team, in the above action, had a commendable contribution.
