The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has asked the Uttarakhand government to probe the disappearance of 7,375 boundary pillars in the Mussoorie forest division.
In a letter from its Dehradun regional office, official Neelima Shah directed the state’s Forest Department to submit a violation report. The letter addressed to RK Sudhanshu, principal secretary of forests, stated: "Submit a detailed violation report under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and/or the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1990."
The issue first came to light in 2023 during a review of the division’s 10-year forest working plan. The plan is revised every 10 years to meet the changing forest management needs. The report found thousands of missing pillars across six forest ranges: 4,133 in Mussoorie (out of 5,237), 1,722 in Raipur (out of 3,409), 944 in Jaunpur (out of 1,998), 296 in Devalsari (out of 642), 218 in Kempty (out of 703), and 62 in Bhadrigad (out of 332)
Most of the missing markers are in Mussoorie and Raipur, areas vulnerable to encroachment because of their high real estate value.
Boundary pillars are protected under Section 63(c) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, against encroachment, mining, smuggling, and poaching. Tampering with or removing them is a punishable offence.
Chief conservator of forests (planning), Sanjeev Chaturvedi, had flagged the matter in June. He wrote a letter to principal chief conservator of forests and head of Forest Force (HoFF) Samir Sinha, requesting an investigation under judicial supervision by an SIT or even the CBI.
Following this, Mussoorie DFO Amit Kanwar said a recount of the pillars was underway using GPS and satellite imagery to verify their locations and check for possible encroachment.
Also Read: The curious case of missing forest boundary pillars in Mussoorie
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