Karjat residents to hug trees in Chipko-style protest against felling for Torrent project

An unusual protest is about to be held against the proposed Torrent hydro project at Pali Tarfe Kotwal Khalati in Karjat taluka. The Karjat Paryavaran Bachav Samiti, which is opposing the project, has announced that people will hold a Chipko andolan by clinging to the trees that are being cut.

According to the samiti, 640 hectares of forest department land is to be given for the Torrent project to be built in Karjat. The decision to hand over the forest land was taken on October 7, and immediately afterwards the contractor there began cutting trees. The samiti has turned aggressive after the felling of trees began directly for the project work.

The samiti has decided on the tree-hugging protest to demand an answer for the forest department's high-handedness and to stop the felling of trees in the Pali Tarfe Kotwal Khalati area. As soon as the Chipko andolan was announced, countless young people and nature lovers from different parts of Karjat taluka came forward. They have also given their names. Social workers, workers of political parties, farmers and people affected by the project will take part.

The protest will be held in the Pali Tarfe Kotwal Khalati area itself. Along with coordinator Adv. Kailas More, Sachin Gaikwad, Akshay Gaikwad, Rahul Gaikwad, Rajesh Vehele, Satish Borade, Jagdish Dagde, Pranesh Yadav, Tanaji Turad, Dinesh Adhav, Kiran Rane, Haresh Janu Sonawale, Eknath Khadekar, Ganesh Masane, Pankesh Jadhav, Mahesh Adhav, Sweety Barshi, Ajay Karale, Milind Lad, Jayesh Masane, Rushikesh Bhagat, Jagdish Mali, Jitendra Gawli Manivali, Sharad Hazare, Pradip Dhole, Sanjay Deshmukh, Mayur Angre, Vinod Gajanan Dalvi-Avsare, Arjun Mali, Mahendra Bhoir, Pankaj Gaikar and Pravin Rane will take part. There is curiosity among people about how the protest will be carried out.

Adv. Kailas More, coordinator of the Karjat Paryavaran Bachav Samiti, said: "How did the forest department permit the felling of trees on such a large scale on the strength of just a notification on paper? There are lakhs of trees on 640 hectares, yet nature is being sacrificed by showing a smaller number. We will not let a single tree be cut, and for this we will hug the trees in a Chipko andolan."

The samiti has raised several questions about the forest department's functioning. The first is why tree felling was started in haste as soon as the notification was received. The second is why the number of trees was shown as only 32,480 despite lakhs of trees on 640 hectares. The third is what firm policy there is to replant the felled trees. And the fourth is where alternative land has been given in exchange for the forest land.