Panaji : After High Court of Bombay in Goa Expressing surprise at the non-meeting of tree officials of North and South Goa since its formation in 2012, the officials held a joint meeting based on the directions of the court. A compliance report was filed as directed by the court, where it is stated that the forest department is in the process of developing a dedicated. Online Portal for applications seeking permission for felling of trees across Goa.
However, the state has told the court that it is not possible to do tree census in Goa as directed by the court, as it is a ‘heavy’ task and the climate of Goa leads to dense vegetation growth within a short period of time. “Once the online portal is operational, the entire process of felling (permission) of trees will be made online,” it said.
Presently, the forest department is regularly uploading the permissions granted for felling of trees on the website of the forest department,” said Santosh Phadte, member secretaries of tree officers and Prem Kumar R.
In July, the high court had directed the state to comply with all provisions relating to the duties of the Tree Authority under Goa, Daman and Diu conservation. Tree Work. The court was hearing a PIL filed by the Living Heritage Foundation, seeking revival of the Tree Authority and conducting a tree census.
Regarding the census, tree officials said in the compliance report that the Forest Survey of India, an organization of the Union Environment Ministry, has already conducted a survey of forest and tree cover in Goa. As per the 2019 report, the forest cover of Goa increased from 60.2% during the previous survey year to 60.4%.
“A large number of technical/skilled manpower, logistics, IT equipment, funds, etc. are required to plan and carry out the tree census in an area of about 2,487 sq km,” the compliance report said. .
The report said that if a census is conducted, it would be difficult to reach a certain number of trees as tree growth is a continuous process.
“This will change year after year, and hence tree census will have to be done at regular intervals, which is a huge task in terms of time and resources. In addition, the climatic conditions of Goa facilitate the accelerated growth of forest-like vegetation as it is a high rainfall area,” the report reads.
The report said that the Forest Survey of India already has records of trees outside forest areas.
However, the state has told the court that it is not possible to do tree census in Goa as directed by the court, as it is a ‘heavy’ task and the climate of Goa leads to dense vegetation growth within a short period of time. “Once the online portal is operational, the entire process of felling (permission) of trees will be made online,” it said.
Presently, the forest department is regularly uploading the permissions granted for felling of trees on the website of the forest department,” said Santosh Phadte, member secretaries of tree officers and Prem Kumar R.
In July, the high court had directed the state to comply with all provisions relating to the duties of the Tree Authority under Goa, Daman and Diu conservation. Tree Work. The court was hearing a PIL filed by the Living Heritage Foundation, seeking revival of the Tree Authority and conducting a tree census.
Regarding the census, tree officials said in the compliance report that the Forest Survey of India, an organization of the Union Environment Ministry, has already conducted a survey of forest and tree cover in Goa. As per the 2019 report, the forest cover of Goa increased from 60.2% during the previous survey year to 60.4%.
“A large number of technical/skilled manpower, logistics, IT equipment, funds, etc. are required to plan and carry out the tree census in an area of about 2,487 sq km,” the compliance report said. .
The report said that if a census is conducted, it would be difficult to reach a certain number of trees as tree growth is a continuous process.
“This will change year after year, and hence tree census will have to be done at regular intervals, which is a huge task in terms of time and resources. In addition, the climatic conditions of Goa facilitate the accelerated growth of forest-like vegetation as it is a high rainfall area,” the report reads.
The report said that the Forest Survey of India already has records of trees outside forest areas.
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