Probe ordered into ‘illegal construction’ of eco-huts in Munsyari reserve forest in Pithoragarh

DEHRADUN: The ministry of environment, forest and climate change has directed Uttarakhand forest department principal secretary RK Sudhanshu to initiate a formal inquiry into alleged illegal construction of permanent eco-huts inside the reserved forest area of Khaliya in Munsyari, Pithoragarh.On August 13, the ministry’s regional office in Dehradun sought an action-taken report (ATR) on four specific points, stating that further steps would follow based on the state’s response. It directed the Uttarakhand govt to submit a detailed violation report under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, along with an ATR against the violator. The ministry also asked the state to identify the persons, authorities or organisations responsible for violations under the 1980 Act so that action could be taken against them under sections 3A and 3B.

In addition, it instructed the govt to nominate an officer of the rank of divisional forest officer or above to file complaints against those found prima facie guilty under the provisions of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Rules, 2023.The matter surfaced last year during a review of the Pithoragarh forest division’s working plan, after which a 500-page investigation report was submitted in Dec 2024 to the head of forest force, Uttarakhand, by chief conservator of forests (working plan) Sanjiv Chaturvedi.

In his report, Chaturvedi alleged that IFS officer Vinay Bhargav, during his tenure as divisional forest officer of Pithoragarh, facilitated the construction of permanent eco-huts without mandatory approvals, violating section 2 of the 1980 Act.Responding to the allegations, Bhargav, conservator of forests (western circle), told TOI that the Munsyari Eco Park and several existing structures built earlier by the research wing of Uttarakhand were officially transferred to the Pithoragarh forest division by order of the principal chief conservator of forests on Oct 14, 2015.

“As DFO Pithoragarh, in 2019 we only carried out limited renovation, upgradation and modification of already existing permanent structures, and did not construct any new ones,” he said.Bhargav added that under the Forest (Conservation) Act, eco-tourism facilities are permissible within forest areas if they are part of an approved working plan, wildlife management plan or tiger conservation plan. Such activities, he said, are “specifically excluded from the definition of non-forest purpose and therefore do not require separate clearance under the Act”.“The renovation, upgradation and utilisation of already existing structures for nature education, eco-tourism and interpretation in Munsyari were fully in line with the legal framework of the FCA. Any attempt to portray these as violations is misleading and disregards the law’s intent, which is to promote community-based eco-tourism and conservation-linked infrastructure under approved plans,” Bhargav said.