New Delhi: The Supreme Court slammed the Uttarakhand Government on Wednesday for its lackadaisical approach in controlling the forest fires in the state and directed the Chief Secretary to be present personally before it on May 17.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai, SVN Bhatti and Sandeep Mehta said that it was at pains to say that the State's approach in controlling forest fires was lackadaisical.
The top court observed that, though multiple action plans are prepared, no steps are taken for their implementation.
It questioned the Uttarakhand government on why the forest fire staff was deployed on poll duty.
It also asked the counsel appearing for Uttarakhand, "Why have you employed the forest fire staff on election duty amidst fire?"
A state official told the bench that the election duty was over and that the Chief Secretary had directed them not to put any official on poll duty.
The top court also raised the issue of a huge vacancy in the forest department of the state and said the issue needs to be addressed.
Counsel for Uttarakhand further told the bench that the state government had not received funds from the Centre to tackle the forest fire.
He said, "Funding is a huge issue now. Had there been proper funding, the situation would have been better. The Centre has to chip in to help the state."
The apex court was hearing petitions highlighting the extent of forest fires in Uttarakhand.
In 2021, the apex court agreed to examine pleas asking the Uttarakhand government to take measures to prevent the occurrence of forest fires causing large-scale destruction of flora and fauna in the hill state.
