"There should be proper mechanism...responsibilities should be fixed": CM Dhami on forest fire incidents in Uttarakhand

New Delhi [India], May 4 : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has stressed the need of advance preparations to deal with forest fire incidents in the state, noting that responsibilities of all the senior officers from the headquarters should be fixed as also the district officers and there should be complete control over it within next one week.
The Chief Minister today held a video conference with the state government officials and all the district magistrates from Uttarakhand Sadan in New Delhi on important issues like forest fire, drinking water problem, upcoming Chardham Yatra and power supply.
"This is a big challenge for us. There should be a proper mechanism for this, and there should be preparations in advance to deal with it. It has been said that the responsibilities of all the senior officers from the headquarters should be fixed, the responsibilities of the district officers should be fixed and along with coordination with all the departments, there should be complete control over this within the next one week," Dhami told ANI.
State DGP Abhinav Kumar told ANI that 70 per cent of Uttarakhand is covered with forest. He said it would be found if fire incidents were deliberate. He said three persons have been arrested so far and prevention of fire incidents was the top priority for the department.
"It makes forest and wildlife protection a matter of top priority not only for the forest department but also for the police department. The meetings have happened regarding this. Under a joint strategy, the Police Department and Forest Department will mark the regions affected by the forest fire and investigate if the fire incident was deliberate... Till now, cases have been registered in 9 districts and in one case, three accused have been arrested... The prevention of forest fires is a top priority for the police department," Kumar said.
In his meeting with state government officials through video conferencing, the Chief Minister asked Chief Secretary Radha Raturi to fix the responsibility of the officers from top to bottom in this matter.
The Chief Minister said that the responsibility of divisions should be distributed to all the officers posted at the headquarters level and regular reports should be taken from all of them. He said that the District Magistrate should also fully cooperate with the Forest Department in the work of preventing forest fires.
The Chief Minister said there is a need to ensure safety measures for the fire watchers who are working in the field and for this, options like insurance should be considered for them.
"Also, it should be ensured that the DFO and higher level officers must visit the spot".
He said that fire cannot be controlled by sitting in the office. Whatever strict action is to be taken for this should be taken. District Magistrates were also instructed to take decisions according to the circumstances, a release said.
The Chief Secretary assured the Chief Minister that positive results will be seen in the case of forest fire within a week. The newly-appointed Head of Forest Forces (HOFF) informed the Chief Minister that till now a total of 350 cases have been registered regarding forest fire, of which 60 named cases have been registered.
The Chief Minister also informed that wherever the incident is reported, teams are sent immediately and the fire is brought under control within one to six hours.
The Chief Minister, while reviewing the Chardham Yatra preparations, said that the Yatra "is both a challenge and a test for us".

He directed the DGP to ensure that the security personnel deployed in the temple premises behave well with the devotees and immediately come forward to help them. He said that every devotee who goes from here should take a good message with him.
He said that the first 15 days of the yatra "are very challenging for us and necessary instructions have already been issued for this".
He said VIP movement should be minimal in these 15 days and all kinds of information about Chardham should be publicized so that the pilgrims do not have to face any kind of problems.
The Chief Minister said that all the roads should be in good condition before the Chardham Yatra starts on May 10. PWD Secretary Pankaj Pandey informed that the Additional Secretary and other officials are regularly visiting the field.
The Chief Secretary informed that additional cleaning workers have been deployed on the Yatra route by the District Magistrate Rudraprayag.
The Chief Minister said that an adequate number of doctors and paramedical staff should be deployed in rotation for health services. He said that most of the complaints come regarding heli services and there is a need to be very strict on this.
The DGP informed that DIG Law and Order has also been given responsibility in terms of traffic management. In view of the traffic jam on the route of Laxman Jhula, Muni ki Reti, Shivpuri, SP Rural of Dehradun has been appointed as the nodal officer. Additional SP Kotdwar and CO Narendra Nagar will assist him. The Chief Minister said that all departments and officers should take ownership and work with a positive attitude.
In the meeting, the Chief Minister was informed by Secretary Drinking Water Arvind Singh Hyanki that a total of 317 villages and 148 localities have been identified in urban areas where there is a problem of drinking water and efforts are being made to provide drinking water through various options for drinking water supply in these areas.
He said that most of the complaints are being received from Dehradun, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Didihat, Kotdwar, Champawat. Along with banning connections for commercial construction in all districts from April 1 to June 30, all district magistrates have been directed to ensure that vehicles are dry-washed in workshops.
Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan said that all the District Magistrates have been given the target of identifying 10-10 small drains in each district and reviving them.
Similarly, 10 small rivers are being identified at the state level which can be revived. He informed that the Government of India is going to start Jal Sanrakshan Abhiyan from June 1 to 7 for which preparations are in progress at the state level.
The Chief Minister said that "water conservation is a challenge for us". He said that arrangements for rainwater harvesting and solar energy should be made in all government buildings.
Dhami said the challenge in terms of drinking water is yet to come, so there is a need to make strong preparations.