When a fire broke out late at night on May 1 in the Chewla pine forest, around 60 km from Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, Som Dutt lost no time in waking up his fellow villagers. Residents of Shahimanj village, situated on the periphery of the forest, a large group of them rushed to the spot.

Almost simultaneously, Dutt, the pradhan of the Village Forest Development Committee (VFDC), informed the forest guards and other officials. Even before the forest team could arrive, the villagers began cutting the low-hanging branches to ensure these did not catch fire. They also beat the burning branches with green ones to try and control the fire, which otherwise spreads rapidly through pine trees.

Soon they were joined by the forest team, including the ranger and other fire protection staff. After several hours of non-stop effort, the fire was finally extinguished by the afternoon of the following day. Deep in the jungles, especially in a hilly terrain, where fire engines cannot go, forest fire-fighting teams rely on methods like counter fire and controlled fire to limit the damage. The Ranger of Dharampur forest area, Pawan Kumar was full of praise for Dutt and his team for taking the lead. He believes that the best results are got by encouraging the local community.

“With the forest team having six fires to deal with at the same time, the role of the VFDC was crucial,” says Kumar. According to him, the fire-fighting success rate in his area is high due to the vigilance and proactive participation of the VFDCs. Their coordination with the forest protection team is a crucial aspect.

On his part, Dutt says he is only performing his duty. There have been more fires in a little over a month in the current fiscal as compared to the whole of last year in the pine-rich forests of the State. This is primarily because of the less-than-normal rains last year and the soaring temperatures much before the onset of summer this year. Kumar says sometimes forest fires occur due to human error.

Tourists aboard the Kalka-Shimla rail have been known to smoke near the doorway and throw out cigarette butts, which can lead to forest fires.

All of last fiscal, 671 forest fires were reported affecting over 5,733 hectares; in the current financial year, in less than two months, 1,185 fires have been reported, affecting over 10,982 hectares.

The VFDCs became a part of the Himachal Pradesh participatory forest management policy in the early 1990s after people’s participation in natural forest management was emphasised in the Indian Forest Policy, 1990.

“After all we also stand to gain from forest plantations like bauhinia (kachnar) or bamboo,” says Dutt.

Kamala Devi, President of the Mahila Van Evam Prayavaran Suraksha Samiti, Amboya in Paonta Sahib, which primarily involves women in forest management, expresses a similar sentiment. “We get fodder for our cattle and firewood for cooking from the forests.” She and her team have been actively involved in raising plantations and protecting them.

The Conservator of Forests Nahan circle, YP Gupta points out that forest rights come with duties. The VFDCs are meant to assist local forest staff in containing forest fires. If they don’t, their rights are liable to be suspended. Gupta admits there have been instances of temporary suspension of forest rights in some divisions. On the other hand, there have been instances of committees receiving cash prizes of ₹5,000 each for their brave effort.

The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi

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