Keri: Officials Department of Goa Forest on Wednesday visited the Hill Vagheri area in Sattari and conducted an opening inspection conducted in dense forests, said to be the eco tourism project.
Inspection was conducted by recording told report on January 19 entitled ‘Personal Forest in Vagheri cleaned for unauthorized projects’.
Deputy Forest Conservator for North Goa, the Territory Division, Santosh Phadte, and Round Forest Officer for Keri Range, Vivek Gaonkar, scan the area on foot.
The report of their findings will be submitted to higher authorities.
“Direction is given to the relevant officials to identify whether there are violations.
After the report is submitted, the necessary steps will be taken to reduce any insurgion,” Deputy Forest Conservator of the North Wildlife Division, Jabestin Arulraj, told Toi.
Meanwhile, when forest officials began their inspection, workers involved in cleaning patches and patches of forest seemed to have disappeared from that place.
Also, officials of the wildlife division have now locked the entrance gate to Bukit Vagheri.
Over the past few days, the gate was found open to transporting material for the construction of a watch tower by the Forestry Department to monitor the moment of large cats.
This allows work in vagheri forests to be carried out by the private sector by gaining access through the open gate.
In 1999, the Goa government only informed and declared reserve forests in the vagheri area, not including the heavily owned areas owned by the private sector.
The Goa government recently told this additional area as a private forest, so limiting activities here such a tree logging or cleaning the bushes.
However, regardless of this, taking advantage of Covid-19 restrictions in movement, some private parties looked surveying and limiting this private forest area.