25 new saw mills permitted in Maha in violation of SC order

25 new saw mills have been sanctioned in Maharashtra in violation of a Supreme Court order prohibiting sanction of new mills in view of depleting forest cover in the state, according to Forest Department sources.
A recent review by the department revealed that 25 new saw mills and 72 vertical saw machines were operating in the state, though the SC order of March 4, 1997, imposes a moratorium on new sanctions, sources said.
As against the approved 4,191 mills and 4,852 vertical saw machines, 4,216 mills and 4,924 machines are operating.
This flies in the face of an affidavit filed before the apex court by the Forest Department.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Head of Forest Force A K Joshi has sent a letter to all the Chief Conservators of Forest, chiding them for ignoring the Supreme Court order and seeking explanations, sources said.
As per a committee appointed by the state government, for 4,924 saw machines the annual requirement of timber is 21.86 lakh cubic mt, while the availability -- taking into account the timber brought from outside -- is 18.96 lakh cubic mt. This may lead to illegal tree-felling, the committee said.
In 2006, the then Maharashtra Forest Minister Surupsingh Naik and Principal Secretary Ashok Khot were sentenced to one month's imprisonment by the apex court for granting permission to saw mills in breach of its order.