April 2011 VANA PREMI

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Vol .12 APRIL - 2011 No. 4

JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED FOREST OFFICERS

50
ANDHRA PRADESH
April 2011 VANA PREMI
VANA PREMI
Vol : 12 April 2011 No. 4

Editor : Qamar Mohd. Khan Associate Editor : Sardar Navratan Singh

The Association of Retired Forest Officers, Contents
Andhra Pradesh(Regd. No. 557/1990)
President : Sri. S.D. Mukherji, I.F.S. (Retd.) 1. Editorial ..................... QMK 2
Tel : 23551065, 9885236493 2. Letters to Editor
Vice President : Sri. Krishna Bhoopal Rao, I.F.S. (Retd.) ........................................V. Santhaseela Babu 4
Tel : 23743774, 9866307808 ............................... ............... Q.M.K. 4
Secretary : Sri K. Santokh Singh, I.F.S. (Retd.)
3. Lure of The Himalayas
Tel : 27962929, 9848808101
............... ............................ M. Kamal Naidu 5
Jt. Secretary : Sri. P. Upender Reddy, Dy. C.F.(Retd.)
4. Visit to GIR National Park
Cum Treasurer Tel. 23342582, 9848754778
.............................S.D. Mukherji 17
Excutive committee members 5. Forests in Crisis II -
1. Sri C. Subba Rao, I.F.S. (Retd.), 9848018796 Threats to Contend with
2. Sri T. Rama Krishna, I.F.S. (Retd.), 9849180078 .................................... J.V. Sharma 20
3. Sri M. Padmanabha Reddy, I.F.S. (Retd.), 9849269105 6. Drag in to the Net .....
4. Sri J.V. Subba Rao, 9848486146 ..........................V. Santhaseela Babu 26
5. Sri A. V. Govinda Rajulu, 9440764611
7. Invitation ................... Secretary 28
Editoriral Board 8. Roll of Honour .......... K.B.R. 30
1. President : Ex-Officio President of Assn. 9. Climate Change Reconsidered
2. Editor : Qamar Mohd. Khan ...................M. Padmanabha Reddy 31
Tel : 40121132, 9849233624 10. Laughter the Best Medicine 34
e-mail : qamar_asima@yahoo.com 11. Minutes of 59th Gdneral Body
3. Associate Meeting Held ............ Secretary 35
Editor : Sardar Navratan Singh, 12. Birthday Greetings ... S.K. 37
: Tel : 23340585
13. News and Notes ....... 38
4. Member : A.H. Qureshi, IFS (Retd.)
14. Central Government Health Scheme
5. Convenor : Ex-officio Secy.of Assn
.........................T. Narayana Swamy 43
TARIFF RATES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS 15.Draft Will..................... 47
Back side of front and last cover page 16. Obituary (M. Hussai Khan) 48
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April 2011
EDITORIAL
Natural Calamity: - A massive 9.0 magnitude
earthquake hit Japan on Friday March 11, lasting
for about 6 minutes triggering a deadly tsunami
and widespread devastation. The earth quake
was the largest to hit Japan in a hundred years
and sent a wall of water inland across Japan's
northeast coastline, engulfed everything – and
almost everyone in its path devastating entire
cities and triggering multiple nuclear crises. It is
reported that “the disaster has left more than
11,000 people dead, many thousands homeless
and millions without water, power, heat or
transportation." Though the full extent of the
damage will not be known for some time, we
know that it will be large and we all have to
support Japan.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the
world's most seismically active areas. The country
(Japan) accounts for about 20 per cent of the
world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
This earthquake occurred before the 'super
moon' date is still eight days away. The
earthquake triggered extremely destructive
tsunami waves of up to 10 meters (33 ft) that
struck Japan minutes after the quake, in some
cases traveling up to 10 km inland with smaller
waves reaching many other countries after
several hours. This earthquake's magnitude make
it the most powerful known earthquake to hit
Japan, and one of the five most powerful
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earthquakes in the world overall since modern
record-keeping began in 1900. It is said that "in
the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is
the toughest and the most difficult crisis for
Japan. Initially the magnitude of the earth quake
was reported as 7.9 the magnitude was quickly
upgraded to 8.8 and then to 8.9, and then again
to 9.0. ‘Save the Children’ reports that as many
as 100,000 children have been uprooted from
their homes. Some of whom were separated,
from their families because the earthquake
occurred during school time.
Most of us in India first heard the word Tsunami
when one hit our east coast on December 26,
2004. Tsunami is a Japanese world, tsu means
harbor and nami means wave.
Nuclear power stations, were shut down
following the earthquake which caused severe
problems including large explosions and
leakage of radiation. Over 200,000 people have
been evacuated. Helicopters were used to dump
water on the nuclear plant to attempt to cool
the reactors.
Officials from the Japanese Nuclear and
Industrial Safety Agency have reported that
radiation levels inside the plant are up to 1,000
times normal levels, and that radiation levels
outside the plant are up to 20 times the normal
levels, . The highest level in the Kanto region
April 2011 VANA PREMI

was 40 times the normal level. The damage
caused due to nuclear power stations will
continue for indefinite period as we have seen
the damage caused due to leakage of gas in
Bhopal.
Our Central Government and State Governm-
ents should think twice before allowing the
nuclear power stations to come up in our country
as these nuclear power stations will create loss
of human life as happened in Japan during
natural calamities. We pray almighty God to
give strength to Japanese to bear this huge and
great loss of life and property and may the
Almighty God rest the noble souls in peace that
died in this calamity. QMK

What is earthquake? jolted. This causes the water above the

The earth’s crest consists of many large and
small “tectonics plates” which have been
floating about on the very hot, thick, gooey mass
for millions of years. In some of the places the
boundaries of the plates rub against each other
as they move. At some point the pressure is so
much that one or both of the plates suddenly
jerks. This takes place several kilometers
underground. On the surface where we live, we
feel the ground shaking under us. This is what
we experience as an earthquake.
What is a Tsunami?
Earthquakes also occur underground below the
ocean floor. When this happens, the ocean is
earthquake point to be violently and suddenly
pushed with a tremendous amount of force.
A huge wave forms out on the open ocean.
When this wave travels and encounters a
coast, it bumps into the land. Coastal areas
are very shallow. When this bump occurs, the
water rises high and crashes on to the land. If
the land is flat, the water floods inland with
extreme force and wipes out everything in
its path.
(Source : The Hindu, with thanks)

APPEAL
Thousands of Birds die every summer without water. Save these thirsty
birds by providing water during summer. Please keep water in tubs
of three to four liters capacity for birds, on roof tops, sunshades, bal-
conies or nay other suitable place till end of July and save thousands
of birds.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Sir,
You Editorial highlighting the importance of Forests and the role played by human beings in their deliberate
destruction is quite befitting on the eve of the celebrations of “World Forestry Day”. You have rightly said that
“without forests and wildlife we cannot live even for a minute, but without human beings forests and wildlife can
survive in a much better way.”
In the article “Forestry at Cross – Roads” Dr. Kesava Reddy had appropriately analyzed the Forestry practices
in India right from the days of Imperial Forest Service during the British period to the present stage of JFM/CFM. I
fully concur with the views expressed by our learned officer about the present scenario of degenerate phase of
forests consequent on the implementation of JFM and CFM. Peoples’ participation is the main essence in these
programmes but it is a myth in majority of the areas. As Special Officers and Nodal officers of the greatly advocated
programme “Janma Bhoomi” the attitude of people we found was “you came to my house, what did you bring and
I came to your house, what are you giving”. At the same time as Forest Officers implementing and inspecting the
JFM/CFM works we have also noticed the same attitude among the public.The staff has been suffering like anything
to muster the presence of people for executing the works taken up in these schemes. When VSSs members were
requested to attend the meetings they were asking who will give us the wages for this day? This was the actual way
of so called peoples’ participation. It is quite true that whenever VIPs visit the VSSs, they were asked to make glorious
presentations giving rosy pictures about the schemes.
I whole heartedly congratulate Dr. Reddy garu for having meticulously analyzed the present sad state of
Forestry practices in the country which are going to land the entire posterity in a melancholy.
DETROIT, Michigan, USA sincerely yours,
Date: 10-03-2011. V.SANTHASEELA BABU

Respected readers
The article written by Dr. Keshava Reddy garu and presented to the 85th Foundation Course for Civil
Service Officers as Late Sri P. Srinivas IFS Memorial Lecture is very interesting and he has analyzed the different
phases of Forestry in our country. The JFM, CFM and the present Scheduled Tribes and other Forest Dwellers Act’
period is the worst period in the history of Indian Forestry. We have carried out experiments like JFM and CFM on a
very large scale and destroyed our natural Forests instead of, experimenting this in a smaller area for a very long
time and if that is successful than only we should have taken it on a large scale.The handing over of the forest areas
under Forest Rights Act has destroyed lakhs of hectares of forests.The destroyed forests cannot be regenerated in
a short period. It takes hundreds of years to regenerate. Time has come now for Retired and in Service Forest
Officers who are technically qualified to raise against the wrong policies of the Governments as far as Forestry is
concerned, through journals, news papers and bring awareness among the public about the importance, and the
roll played by the forest for the survival of mankind, instead of remaining as a silent spectator. If we fail to rise to the
occasion our next generations will not excuse us..
Hyderabad Yours sincerely
Qamar Mohammad Khan

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April 2011
LURE OF THE HIMALAYAS
By
M. Kamal Naidu
In 1974 November I took charge of the “Special
Refresher Course” (SRC) under the purview of
Indian Forest Academy. This course was for
brushing up of Asst. Conservator of Forest’s on
promotion from Forest Range Officers, mostly in
new trends in forestry after their training at
Forest Ranger Colleges, some 15-20 years back.
Before the commencement of the new course
in January, I discussed with Mr. DC Pande, Director
of Forest Education that I wished to have a more
flexible touring program, instead of the stereo-
typed tours, as was being done for last five years.
I expected a rejection to my proposal, as it is the
usual trend in forest service to stick to the beaten
track, particularly at the Academy. Mr. Pande was
all game to the suggestion, and so I decided to
tour areas I had not seen as a probationer, or as
the junior in-charge of SRC course, since I joined
the Academy instructional staff in May 1973.
Since Mr. Pande was from UP, I asked if there was
an alternative to Himachal tour, besides Chakrata
in UP. He promptly suggested we see the forests
and erosion control measures, in the outer and
middle Himalayas of Uttar Pradesh (now
Uttaranchal). He said this was one of the most
beautiful and enchanting regions of northern
India, where Nature endowed this land with so
much beauty and spiritual bliss, that it is known
as ‘Dev Bhoomi’, the ‘Land of Gods’ graced by the
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two major rivers Ganga and Yamuna, was a land
in harmony and proportion, and the original
home of the Indian culture, giving it a universally
rich history and well preserved heritage.
Thanks to my northern deputations to Dehra Dun
and Delhi, I was able to make pilgrimages to
many of the most holy sacred places very
unexpectedly. I had been thrice to Badrinath and
Kedarnath, twice to Gangotri and Yamnotri, and
thrice to Vaishno Devi in Jammu. These were
further reinforced, thanks to my present
unexpected assignment, by seven calls to
Kamakhya in Assam, and two to Lord Shiva
(tallest natural Shiva Linga discovered in 2004)
near Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh. Thus I was able
to traverse the holy shrines from the Eastern to
Western Himalayas. I sometimes think, and
vaguely feel that there had been some divine
reasons for these calls to the Himalayas, for I
never dreamt or imagined, nor would have
deliberately undertaken such journeys in my
normal course. Added to the above purification
rites, my knowledge of ‘Karma Yoga’, had been
laid and acknowledged with a ‘First Prize’ by
‘Allahabad Gita Ashram’ for an essay at an ‘Inter-
Universities Competition’ conducted by them
in 1961, for my essay “Karma Yoga---Philosophy
of Action”.This happened after attending lectures
by Swami Chinmayananda on Chapter III of Sri
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Bhagwada Gita, reading Swami Vivekananda and those moments, until back to the ‘Samsara’.
Tagore on related topic. Now having become However, as a Forester, I had seen so many other
such a very frequent returnee from the land of places of lesser sacredness, but the visit to the
‘Rishis’, recollect my visits to the ‘Punyabhoomi’, Himalayas was the most divine for its sheer
added on with interesting episodes I gathered majesty and grandeur.
over my several visits, and having the privilege
1st day: Starting from Dehra Dun in three good
of several baths in the innumerable holy hot
ambassador taxis driven by sturdy Sardars, the
springs and rivers of the Himalayas, I think I am
nine trainees, and I with family departed for
more than sufficiently purified as per the index
Chilla, in Rajaji National Park via Haridwar.
of general belief by us mortals; I wonder if I am
Enroute we first touched Rishikesh, a celebrated
adequately qualified to be looked upon as
spiritual town on the bank of Ganga, surrounded
Swamy Kamalanandaji? May be too tall an order
by Shivalik range of the Himalayas on three sides.
or imagination for a materialistic being. Probably
It is said that here when Raibhya Rishi did hard
I am too repeatedly being drawn to a
penances, God appeared by the name of
materialistic lifestyle, being repeatedly imposed
"Hrishikesh ", and so the name. Here Rama,
on me inadvertently, that keeps me away from
Lakshmana and Bharata are believed to have
attaining the possible destined divine end.
spent a good part of their early days. We saw the
Everything has its time. I look forward plenty of
Ram and Lakshman ‘jhulas’, very unnerving
time to score a century and full pension.
swaying suspension bridges, spanning the
We, in the Forest Academy, normally stick only
swirling, crystal clear Ganga, where the fish could
to the fringes of Himalayas, like the Siwaliks and
be seen clearly. These bridges join the famed
outer Himalayas. So with Mr Pandeji’s help and
Sivananda Ashram and the Swargashram and
guidance, I chalked out a modified tour plan
Tryambakeshwar on the either banks. The latter
confined to only UP, sticking partly to traditional
‘jhula’ is believed to be the spot where
Corbett NP, Haldwani Wood industries, and to
Lakshmana crossed the river with the help of a
Nainital as a necessity, and deviated there from
rope. Between these two bridges is the Triveni
on to the divine path traversed by the many
ghat, immortalized by Bharat mandir. Just 15 km
mythological persons in the past, and the many
away, we visited the Neelkant Mahadev temple,
less divine of the present. Once there, my
where Lord Shiva as in our mythology, swallowed
intimate enquiries from the locals, and the
the poison being churned by the gods and
folklore intimately associated with different
demon from the sea, and thus saved the life of
places visited, made me feel I am blessed at
the world from a great disaster. Starting from
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here we made a beginning, delving into the
divine and divinity of the famed ‘Dev Bhoomi’.
From here we moved on towards Haridwar.
A visit to Haridwar is believed to fulfilling one’s
life ambition. The place is shrouded with so many
mythological stories. One remembers the
stories heard as a child, on the lap of
grandmothers of yesteryears. It is believed to be
one of the seven holiest places according to
Hindu mythology, and a major Shaktipeeth of
devotees. According to ancient scriptures it was
called Gangadwar, Mokshadwar and Mayapuri. It
is here the Holy Ganga emerges out from the
mighty womb of the Himalayas, through the
‘Shiva Hills’ called Siwaliks, into the fertile
Gangetic plains. Thus, are the most sacred places
for the Hindus being the ‘doorway to Hari’ or ‘Hari-
dwar’. The whole region beyond it into the
Himalayas is called the ‘Char Dham’ or the start
of pilgrimages to the ‘spiritual source’ of the four
sacred rivers Yamnotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and
Badrinath, which have spectacular locations in
the snowy Himalayas. Here, Lord Vishnu is said
to have left his footprint on a rock called ‘Hari-ki-
pairi’, at the main bathing ‘ghat’, so that every
human being can follow the ‘path to salvation’
after touching this rock. It is also believed that
the Suryavanshi Prince Bhagiratha performed his
penance here to salvage the souls of his
ancestors, who perished due to the curse of Sage
Kapila. In response to his penance, Lord Shiva
sent Ganga gushing out, cascading through his
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matted hair locks, which in today’s parlance, we
consider was a good soil conservation measure.
This bountiful holy Ganga water revived the sixty
thousand sons of king Sagara. In the tradition of
Bhagirath, devout Hindus stand in the sacred
waters, and pray for salvation of their departed
elders. It was an opportunity to at least
remember them in great gratitude. We waited
till the evening to attend the ‘aarthi’ worship,
considered very auspicious. We saw the pilgrims
in great devotion and sincerity leave lighted
‘diyas’ floating down into the river by the
hundreds, making the Ganga virtually glitter like
the starry galaxy on a dark night.
Little away from the city is Daksha Mahadev
temple, the spot where Daksha, Sati’s father had
a family sacrifice, to which he refused to invite
Shiva. Sati was enraged at the insult to her
husband Shiva, so immolated herself in protest.
Shiva in great sorrow for His beloved carried her
body around, performing His ‘Cosmic Dance’,
threatening to destroy the world. It was then Lord
Vishnu came to the rescue of the world by
cutting Sati’s body into several pieces with his
disk, and flung them all over the country.
Wherever these pieces of Sati, fell have become
important places of pilgrimage to devotees of
Durga.
After all these visits at Haridwar, we traveled
through the dense forest where the elephants
roamed to reach Chilla late in the evening.
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Day 2: Early next morning leaving Chilla, we the occasion “For the first time in the history of
traveled through the dense virgin forest to the world a young girl climbed into a tree one
Kotdwar, thence via Kalaghar to Dhikala on day a Princess, and climbed down the next day a
Ramganga, the core of Corbett National Park. Queen”. He died in 1955.
Enroute we saw a wide array of animals like the
Leaving Kaladungi, we reached Haldwani, with a
elephants, chital, wild boar and barking deer in
large forest complex, training school, etc. This
plenty on the wide flats bisected by a multitude
place is renowned to forester for having the first
of tributaries of the Ganga, accompanied by
large scale mechanized plantations of
shimmering carpets of dizzy butterflies in
eucalyptus and poplars, which I had seen in 1963
thousands. At evening the elephant ride at
as a probationer. It was now a fabulous sight of
Corbett gave the trainees an opportunity of
regimented greenery from the height of the tall
seeing a tiger for the first time. Oh! What thrill it
watch-tower. After a thorough study and
had sent through them. After the ride, before a
discussions on Forest management with the DFO,
late dinner, we were enlightened by the DFO,
we proceeded to see a few forest-based
my batch-mate Mr. Ashok Singh, on the park
industries based on resin, and its several bi-
management, together with spirits for our tired
products, before proceeding to ascend the
limbs.
mountain slopes to Nainital via Kathgodam,
Day 3: Leaving Corbett early in the morning, we absorbing the beauty and enormity of the
drove through the park hoping to sight the tiger, receding view of the plains.
via Kalaghar. We saw a lot of ungulates, and came
Day 4: Nainital is famed for the Naina Devi
out at Ramnagar, and drove down to Kaladungi.
temple, where as per mythology the eye (in
This place housed the famed Corbett Museum
Sanskrit ‘naina’ means eye) of Sati, wife of Shiva
with his personal effects, rifles, fishing gear,
had fallen when Lord Vishnu flung the several
letters and books. Here I saluted the soul of the
pieces of her body in different directions. It was
greatest of all wild lifers, who enlightened the
told that the emerald green lake now famous
readers of his books with an excitement and
was the blue-green eye of Sati.
thrill. He ultimately settled down in Kenya at his
We set of fairly early in the morning to Naina
luxurious “Tree Top Machan”, which I saw in
Peak (8560 ft) studying the changing vegetation
recent years before retiring. It was here that he
starting with the ‘Himalayan subtropical pine
had his proudest moment in 1952, when Prince
forests’ below 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) elevation,
Phillips and Princess Elizabeth were his honored
seen while reaching Nainital. From here up the
guests, when King George V died. He wrote of
hill we saw the transition to ‘temperate
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April 2011
broadleaves forest’ to 2600m (8500) along with
deodar, kail and the three species of oaks
depending on aspect and altitude. As we got to
the peak, we saw the ‘Temperate conifers’ of fir,
spruce with rhododendron and the ‘western sub-
alpine Western Himalayan alpine shrub and
meadows’ beyond 2600m (above 8500ft) at the
peak. This was a very vital exposure to the
trainees on the distinct change in the vegetation
and their management by the DFO, which made
a good understanding of the forests beyond to
Bhadrinath and Kedarnath. In the process of the
climb we went past the Governors summer
residence, a relic of past British style structure.
From the top of the peak the view of the wide
spreading Himalayas, the abode of gods, across
the horizon was a spectacular sight of the
majestic chain of peaks, in pure white of the
highest mountains on earth. Nanda Devi (25,650
ft or 7816m) considered as the ‘Goddess of Bliss’
towered above all, as the proud highest peak in
Indian territory. This was flanked by a cavalcade
of sister peaks, stretching to the east and west,
with Trishul (23,360 ft) standing out amongst
them with its cluster of three peaks, named after
‘Shiva’s trident’.
Leaving Nainital after a small boat ride in the
lake, we went to the Kumaon Regimental Center
at Raniket, where in the Regimental Museum
we saw the country’s first ‘Param Vir Chakra’
exhibited, awarded to late Major Somnath
Sharma of this regiment. Thereafter proceeded
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and went past Almora (1650 m), a very old town
dating back to over 500 years, famed for the
sacred Nanda Devi temple. We reached Binsar
(7910 ft or 2,310 m) fairly late, and in the darkness
passing through deodar trees, clustered with
fireflies, were like the lighting of Christmas trees.
This gave us the feeling of a child getting lost in
a fairy tale on a Christmas night.
Binsar got its name from the Shiva temple
Bineshwar. Binsar is now declared a National Park
being a very beautiful dense wildlife area with
conifers and expansive broadleaves in the
valleys, and scattered oaks among the conifers
in a greater mix than other areas, with beautiful
succulents blooming in scattered wide
openings. The high light of this place are the
enchanting melodious music starting off the day
from birds which makes the place a bird
watchers paradise. This was a favorite haunt of
late PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The sunrise
seen from the heights here of the snow-clad
mountains was a great mystic experience giving
a brilliant distant view of Gangotri, Kedarnath
and Badrinath, besides the much closer gigantic
Nanda Devi and its associated peaks, the Trisul,
Nand Cot (22,650 ft), Nandaghunti (20,700 ft) and
Panchuli, a conglomerate of five peaks, believed
to have been used as a ‘chulla’ by Bhima for
cooking food, while on the Pandavas trek to
heaven.
Day 5: After feasting our eyes of the beauteous
Himalayan ranges, we left Binsar through never
April 2011
ending stretches of moss covered deodar forests
for Kausani via Jageshwar (1870m) with a huge
ancient temple complex of over 100 temples,
representing almost the entire pantheon of
Hindu deities, some of these dating back to 7th
century AD, set amidst beautiful tall deodar
forests. One gets confused here as to which deity
one should give importance too without
annoying or courting displeasure of another.
Therefore I did not enter the abode of anyone of
the ‘Mukoti devathalu’, but passed through the
place hoping for the best from all of them, and
set foot only on the holy soils at the confluence
of Nandini and Surabhi. In this journey we went
past a number of large and small waterfalls and
cascades hidden in the mountains. Thereafter we
reached back to Almora, where we were
explained the management of forests and the
several soil conservation activities being
undertaken. We then proceeded to Kausani via
Someshwar.
Day 6: At Kausani (1890m) the view from the top
was breath taking, especially it having been a
clear sunny day. The weather generally at
altitudes is unpredictable. The panoramic view
of the mountains filled the entire horizon from
east to west, a grand 350 km kaleidoscopic
landscape etched across the heaven. Looking
down into the valley was the young Gomti. Here
perched atop the ridge at 6200ft into the sky, it
exuded a charm unrivalled by any other place in
Kumaon hills. The view of greater Himalayan
peaks is either soothing or daunting depending
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on the way one viewed it. I felt that I could spend
hours admiring the Nanda Devi in complete
silence. It was here in this serene beauteous
surrounding with its healing environs that
Mahatma Gandhi spirited away his rigorous
imprisonment days and wrote his ‘Anasakti Yoga’.
His love for this place has been well preserved
at ‘Anashakti Ashram’ by his devoted disciple
Sarlaben (Katherine Heilemen). There was a
magic in the bracing air of Kausani, it remained
lingering long after the stay here.
The names of places around like Almora, Mohan,
Champawat and Mukteshwar conjured my
memory in this soft silent surrounds of my young
days at Ooty in the Nilgiris, when I first read “Man
Eaters of Kumaon” prescribed as a non-detail in
my middle school at Lovedale. I wondered as to
how Jim Corbett traversed these places with
lesser transport facilities, often all by himself to
get rid of the menace of ‘a tiger’, which was as
good as the needle in a haystack. No wonder he
was revered and worshipped as a god by the
people of the territory, for in every new creature
born in this vast area, every roar of a tiger, and in
every sweet birdsong, his legacy lives on.
Day 7: Leaving Kausani on the way to Gwaldam
(1830m), we passed through Baijnath famous for
its 12th century sikhara style stone temple, with
impressive carvings dedicated to Lord Shiva at
the confluence of Gomti and Sarayu.
Day 8: Gwaldam rest house was a glorious place.
The sight from the verandah made us feel that
April 2011
we were right at the foot of Trishul across the
Pindar river, originating from the Pindari glacier
on the southern rim of Nanda Devi. The gigantic
Trisul and the adjoining Nanda Cot virtually
camouflaged the most majestic Nanda Devi
behind them. It was a almost full moon night,
and these snow covered mountains kept us
stupefied deep into the night, till sleep
overpowered us in their grandeur. The sight is
vividly etched in me even today as an aid to
meditation. Trisul at such closeness was
awesome; I wondered what it would have been,
had Nanda Devi been in its place.
Here at Gwaldam, we were entertained at the
BSF Officers Mess by ‘Ponca’ Joshi, my batch-
mate of Himachal Cadre, on deputation with the
BSF for high altitude training in snowy terrain,
for a very spirited dinner, and a gala time,
recollecting a decade experience in our
respective careers.
Day 9: Leaving Gwaldam a little late in the
morning after having drenched and soaked
ourselves in Trisul’s glorious fascination, we
moved down along the river Pindar to
Karanprayag, at its confluence with Alakananda,
coming down from Badrinath. Here we stayed
put with DFO Mr Harbola, who was the son-in-
law of Mr Bachketi, the founder Director of Delhi
Zoo, finally retired as IGF. Mr. Harbola had been
responsible for organizing the successful trip
from Kausani onwards, through this unexplored
terrain by probationers of IFA. At Karanprayag,
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leaving the Kumoan region we got into the main
pilgrimage route from Haridwar to Garhwal
region of Badrinath and Kedarnath.
Day 10: Leaving Karanprayag we set out for
Badrinath, one of the four ancient temples that
mark the spiritual sources of the four sacred
rivers of Hinduism. These four temples are
referred to as the “Char Dhams”, and have
spectacular locations, visited by thousands of
pilgrims every year during the ‘yatra’ season. The
routes to these places are well organized and
connected by roads, transport, ponies,
accommodation, etc. One cannot feel lost or
inadequate during the season; starting from mid
March to early October, unlike the less
frequented route, we just traversed from Almora
to Karanprayag.
We passed through Chamoli, Gopeshwar along
the difficult, rugged and steep route besides the
Alakananda, and halted for the night at Joshimath
(1845m), called as the gateway to Badrinath. This
place is perched high above the confluence of
Saraswati, flowing down from far beyond
Badrinath, and the Dhauliganga arising at the
Milam glacier on the north western rim of Nanda
Devi, to become the holy Alakananda. This ‘Math’
was established by Shankaracharya in the 8th
century and has a very brightly painted Narsingh
temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu in his lion form,
besides the temples of (nine) ‘Nav Durga’.
Here the DFO enlightened us on the snow
erosion, and the impact of glaciers, and gave an
April 2011
insight to “Valley of flowers” and the vegetation
in general. He explained the highest elevations
are covered by ice and bare rock, and below
them, between 3,000 and 5,000 meters (9,800
and 16,000 ft) occurred ‘Montane grassland
meadows and shrub-lands’ where many high
altitude animals occurred like snow leopard,
Himalayan bear, ibex, etc.
Day 11: Leaving Joshimath, while enroute to
Badrinath, we diverted at Govind Ghat to the
famed “Valley of Flowers” nestled in the valley
framed by the high snowy ranges peaking at
Kamet peak (7756m) and Mana peak (7272m)
on either side. As we neared the valley, we
experienced the beauty of the shining peaks
fully covered with snow, and the beautiful view
of the immediate surrounding greenery, and
several streams with crystal clear water. This
valley is renowned for its meadows of endemic
alpine flowers, and outstanding natural beauty.
The gentle landscape of the Valley
complemented the rugged mountain
wilderness of Nanda Devi. The park stretched
over an expanse of 87.50 sq kms.
We visited the valley little before the season, in
May, when the flowering had already begun,
though spectacular, but not yet literally a
‘paradise on earth’. It was just getting to be
carpeted with an astonishing variety of wild
flowers, with splashes of color taking on various
shades, as it bloomed with hundreds of different
beautiful flowers. The valley is home to many
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celebrated flowers like the Brahmakamal, Blue
Poppy and Cobra Lily, besides others, mostly
orchids, poppies, primulas, calendulas, daisies
and anemones. Alpine forests of birch and
rhododendron covered parts of the park area.
The local graziers believed that the valley was
inhabited by fairies. This valley was made a
National Park in 1982, and now declared a World
Heritage Site, and forms a part of Nanda Devi
Biosphere Reserve. We were told to come again
in July-August, when it would be spectacularly
beautiful. We were told that this is the place
where Hanuman searched for ‘Sanjivani’ to cure
Lakshman, when he was injured by Indrajit
(Meghnada), son of Ravana. I wished there was a
nice temple, or a huge statue of Hanuman,
carrying the mountain, to commemorate his
legendary visit.
After this breathtaking feast to the eyes, while
getting back to Govind Ghat, we took a detour
to the high altitude lake Hem Kund at 4329m,
where the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh is believed
to have meditated. Our Sardar drivers were
overwhelmed, and gave us a treat at their
expense, for having got the opportunity of
visiting the place for their first time. At Govind
Ghat, we once again joined the convoy of
vehicles to travel the remaining 44 km stretch
to Badrinath, along a very narrow and steep
single road, often on top gear to cross the several
causeways in snow bound valleys. We reached
Badrinath at 3,415 metres (11,204 feet), about
April 2011
300 km north of Rishikesh at late evening, and
set about exploring and gathering details of the
place. The weather was salubrious; we never did
feel tired at any point of time in the entire
journey. Truly as the verse goes “Mountain air is
sweet, pleasant cold or heat”.
The town was situated between the Nar and
Narayana mountain ranges, which went of to
flank the stupendous, awesome Nilkantha peak
(6,560m). We gathered that Bhagavata Purana (in
verse 3.4.22) states "There in Badrik-ashram of
Vishnu, in his incarnation as the sages Nara and
Narayana, who underwent great penance since
time immemorial for the welfare of all living
entities" and the Padma Purana mentioned the
area around abounds in spiritual treasures,
particularly with Vishnu in His dual form of Nara-
Narayana. The Pandavas are said to have passed
through Badrinath on their way to ‘Swarga’
(heaven). There was a cave nearby in Mana,
where the great scholar sage Vyasa, was said to
have written the Mahabharata. However, the
name of the place is of a very simple origin having
been derived from ‘Badri’ (the Sanskrit name for
the Indian Jujube tree), an edible berry, which
was said to have grown here once in abundance.
However another legend we were told was that
goddess Ganga, when she descended to earth to
help the suffering humanity, descended with
great fury. The earth was unable to withstand the
force of her descent. She therefore split into
twelve holy channels, Alaknanda being one of
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them, sacred to Lord Vishnu.
According to the local legend, Shankaracharya
discovered a black stone image of Lord
Badrinarayan, made of ‘Saligram’ stone in the
Alakananda River. He enshrined it in a cave near
the hot spring Tapt Kund, on river Saraswati,
arising from the Manas pass, at the Tibetan
border, in the 8th century. This ‘saligram’ stone
was shifted to its present site by a Garhwal king
in 16th century and made a temple to enshrine
it. The temple underwent several major
renovations because of age and damages by
avalanches. In 17th century, the temple was
expanded considerably by the latter kings of
Garhwal. It was again badly damaged in the great
1803 Himalayan earthquake; when it was rebuilt
by the King of Jaipur. This present temple is
approximately 50 ft tall, having a small cupola
on top, and covered with a gold plated roof. The
temple has a broad stairway leading to a tall
arched gateway, which is the main entrance. The
architecture in general resembles a Buddhist
‘vihara’ (temple), and brightly painted as in
typical Buddhist temples. The walls and pillars
of the ‘mandapa’ are covered with intricate
carvings.
Day 12: Early next morning I g ot up at 4.00AM
for we were told one could see the glory of the
Neelkanth (6558m). It was very dark all around. I
went to the rear window of my room, Wow! What
a spectacular sight I saw, it was awesome.
Neelkanth stood out in the midst of darkness as
April 2011
a massive golden peak. It was all commanding
and captivating. The morning rays of sunrise from
some unseen distance lit it up, and I was wonder
struck. It was sheer Divine; I for a moment was
mesmerized at sighting the Divine. I stood at the
window watching for more than forty minutes,
till when the surrounding brightened; during the
time it gradually turned from golden red to
golden, and finally to shimmering silver, merging
away with the surrounding snowy mountains.
This is a sight to be experienced; it cannot be
described, for as the adage goes “Beauty lies in
the eyes of the beholder”.
After dawn we went down to the bathing place,
where the natural steaming hot springs was
channelized to joins into the Saraswati, to
moderate its temperature for an exhilarating
bath. After bath, we followed the queue entering
the temple, and had a nice ‘darshan’. Frankly
speaking, I did not get that divine feeling one
should get after all that we are impressed upon.
I felt the Lord had deserted the temple, and
resided atop the Neelkanth I saw in the early
hours of the morning. Yes, He was there
spreading all His radiance.
We left after breakfast, buying myself a memento
of Shri Hanuman carrying the mountain made of
brass, which I had wished was set-up at the
‘Valley of Flowers’. The memento still adorns my
study room, taking my mind of frequently to
Badrinath. We visited the few places around,
about which we gathered information, before
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getting into the convoy going down to
Joshimath.
Day 13: Leaving Joshimath very early, we came
down to Chamoli, and had a sumptuous lunch of
hot ‘puries’ and ‘subji’ followed by hot tea. This
was, for we were advised, this shorter route we
proposed to take, was very isolated and rugged,
though had a very rich beautiful pristine deodar
and related forest, with great chances of seeing
a tiger. We took this deviation for Kedarnath at
Gopeshwar, via Anasya Devi, through a much
curving, rising and dropping gradient route, but
missing the tiger, reached Ukhimath, on the
Mandakini river, coming down from Kedarnath.
After cooling the car engines, and refueling
ourselves with hot ‘chay’, proceeded on towards
Gaurikund. Here we left our vehicles, and
proceeded on the 14km trekking to Kedarnath
on foot, while porters carried our limited
baggage.
The route from Gaurikund was littered with tea
stalls selling snacks, so we could trek up easily
and leisurely, though we kept a pony as a standby.
As we approached Kedarnath, we could sight it
from a distance, but actually it was far, with
having to traverse a lot of ups and downs, not
visible to the eyes. As a result we always felt so
near, but it was yet long way off, until the last lap,
when we heaved a sigh of relief. We reached
Kedarnath temple, a very scenic spot, situated
against the backdrop of the majestic Kedarnath
peak (6970m) in the background, and so also our
April 2011
place of stay. Here we got to know that Mandakini
actually originated at a place yet another 12km
up the mountain ranges of Kedarnath. However
it was only on ascending this mountain slope to
the temple, we could absorb the beauty and
enormity of the view around. Kedar is another
name of Lord Shiva, the protector and the
destroyer. The Kedarnath shrine is reputed as one
of the ‘Twelve Jyotirlingas’ of Lord Shiva. This
temple we were told opens on ‘Akshaya Tritiya’
(April end or first week of May) and closes on
‘Bhai Duj’ (October end or 1st week of November)
due to heavy snowfall, and extreme cold weather
during winter.
We heard another legend about Kedarnath as
being named in honor of King Kedar, who was
said to have ruled in the ‘Satya Yuga’ period. He
had a daughter named Vrinda, who was a partial
incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi. She was said to
have performed austerities for 60,000 years. The
land around was named Vrindavan in honor of
her.
Day 14: This temple is however revered as the
source of Mandakini, and is dedicated to Lord
Shiva, and is located at the highest elevation of
the ‘Char Dhams’ at 3548m. Here we realized
that the temple was on a protruded dome
shaped hillock, which was said to be the hump
of a bullock, for Lord Shiva had taken the form of
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VANA PREMI
a bullock at this place, and tried to hide away
into the ground to escape from the Pandavas on
their passage to heaven. The legend behind the
hiding was, since the Pandavas after having won
over the Kaurava in the Kurukshetra war, felt
guilty of having killed their own brothers, and so
sought the blessings of Lord Shiva for
redemption. Therefore Pandavas are supposed
to have ultimately pleased Lord Shiva by doing
penance here in Vrindavan. This reminded me of
a similar hide away act by Lord Shiva at Srisailam,
when Sri Rama was searching for his consort Sita
Devi. Probably here also it must have been the
clever advice of Sage Narada to Him, for keeping
out of controversies of destiny. It was in the
process of hiding the hump was left behind. The
remaining portions of Lord Shiva are seen at four
other places, and are worshipped there as his
manifestations. The ‘arms’ appeared at Tungnath,
the ‘face’ at Rudranath, the ‘belly’ at
Madhmaheshwar, and his ‘locks (hair) with head’
at Kalpeshwar. Thus Kedarnath and the four
above-mentioned shrines are treated as ‘Panch
Kedar’.
The temple here was built by Sankaracharya in
the 8th century, after having traversed the entire
country starting from Kerala to Kashmir, and he
was ultimately buried here behind this shrine.
Here the holy water of ‘Udak Kund’, about which
is written in ‘Kedar Khand’ of Shiv Mahapurana as
April 2011 VANA PREMI

a mixture of all the five Oceans. It is said this reached back late in the evening at the FRH in
water remains fresh even when kept for many Rishikesh, after the long circuitous route. This
years, and is used for purification rituals. After a FRH was located high on the hill-top
bath in this water of Mandakini, we had the overlooking the town, the surrounding regions,
‘darshan’ at the temple, once again enjoyed the and the Ganga down below, roaring and fuming,
superb surrounding scenery, admiring the in its pristine purity.
massive Kedarnath peak, and made our descent
Day 15: After getting up leisurely, followed by
down to Gaurikund.
breakfast at the FRH, we made our way back to
On reaching Gaurikund, which was fairly easy Dehra Dun via good old Lachiwala, the training
going and fast, we drove along the winding road ground of Foresters.
along the river Mandakini via Ukhimath to the
Reminiscing the trip at the FRH, my mind went
confluence with the turbulent Alakananda
wandering to the ridge after ridge of untouched
coming down from Joshimath. Here I stopped
pristine vegetation, crevices in the mountains
for several moments, recollecting about the
with gushing waters, birds chirping on tree tops,
‘Man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag’ by Jim
and the trees themselves towering over the
Corbett, again read by me in childhood after
trails and roads, all provided a refreshing time
being fascinated by ‘Man-eating tigers of
spent in the mountains. The enormity of the
Kumaon’. I recollected the towers at the gate to
mountains and the insignificance of the visitors,
the suspension bridge, where Jim Corbett spent
both in stature and time span, was a contrast
several sleepless nights waiting for the elusive
that awed me.
leopard, moving in the terrain on either side of
We were back at 4.00pm after hectic 15 days
the bridge, and its ultimate tame ending. We
through heat and cold, rough and smooth, from
moved on via Srinagar on the winding path along
plains through rugged mountain roads, amidst
the precipitous Alakananda, and thence reached
forests, barren hills and snow, being fully satisfied
Deoprayag, where it met the Bhagirathi coming
at seeing something new, different from the
down from Gangotri through Uttarkashi, to
routine. My colleagues were highly envious, for
become the holy Ganga. Seeing the turbulent
we did the tour royally in ambassador cars, unlike
Bhagirathi, and the legend for its descent from
IFA staff and students do so by buses, often
Mt. Kailash, roused my passion to follow it to the
rickety.
source; but it had to be for another occasion. We
16
April 2011
VISIT TO GIR NATIONAL PARK
By
S.D.Mukherji
From Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujrat, we
(my wife and I) went by road, about 425 km, to
Sasan Gir, the headquarters of Gir National Park
& Sanctuary. The road passed through Rajkot and
Junagadh. With the courtesy of the Forest
Department, we stayed in an Air Conditioned
room at Sasan Gir. In the evening there was a
film show on the wild life in Gir National Park
&Sanctuary. During this time of the year (third
week of January) the days were little warm,
comforting breeze in the evening and cool night.
We had a very comfortable sleep.
Next day morning an open jeep took us inside
the sanctuary. The driver and the Forester
accompanying us were very experienced
persons with sharp eyes to detect the
movement of wildlife inside the forests. They had
good knowledge about the area. There were
number of different tracks to move in the
sanctuary. Wildlife trackers, employed by the
department, go to the sanctuary very early in the
morning to track the movement of Lions and
other wildlife. They provide direction to the
drivers, going with the visitors, of possible
locations for sighting the Lions. Our jeep was
moving deep in to the forests and the driver was
getting signal from the trackers about the
movement of Lions. While passing through the
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VANA PREMI
forests we came across number of Peacocks and
Spotted deer. After about thirty minutes of
driving jeep was stopped where two trackers
were waiting. The driver, Forester and the
trackers moved inside the forest and warned us
not to climb down from the jeep. After
sometime the Forester and the driver came
back and took the jeep little more inside and
stopped. They showed us the direction where a
lioness was sitting and her two cubs were
playing a little distance away. Seeing the
movement of trackers and others the lioness
moved close to her cubs. We were assured by
the staff that there is no danger as we were afraid
to see the lioness with cubs at such a close
quarter. We watched the family of three for some
time and I tried to take pictures on my mobile.
The lioness and the cubs were unconcerned of
our presence. They remained in their own style
without caring for the onlookers. It was a thrilling
experience to be remembered.
We then moved to another location where a
buffalo had died, may be due to old age. A Lion
had visited the dead buffalo and moved inside
the forests a little while before we reached the
spot. There were crows hovering around the
dead animal that might have disturbed the Lion.
The driver moved the jeep on a curvature with
April 2011
the expectation that the Lion would move out
of forest and cross the road. We waited for a while
but the Lion was not seen. We were told it had
moved on the other side away from the road. We
were told that for the present there is no
information about sighting the tigers at this hour.
It was passed 10 AM. We started our backward
journey.
On our way back we came to a settlement,
Dudhara Ness, inside the sanctuary where four
families of Maldharis, akin to Gujjars of north
India, were residing. They have been living here
for generations and form integral part of the Gir
eco system. However, with the increasing
population of wild animals and cattle population
accompanied with improvement of forest cover
and spread of weeds, like Lantana and Cassia tora,
the fodder has become scarce to meet the
demand of wild fauna and cattle. This was
adversely affecting both the wild life and the
cattle. Forest department successfully
rehabilitated 254 Maldhari families from 1970
to 1990 by providing them land and other
facilities outside the sanctuary. The remaining
54 families are also keen to move out of sanctuary
provided suitable rehabilitation package is
provided, as done earlier. Presently each
Maldhari family lives in a sprawling house site of
about 0.5 acres with rooms for the family
members and shelter for the cattle. On an
average each family keeps about 40 animals,
mostly buffalos. Selling milk is the major source
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VANA PREMI
of their income. They also sell the cow dung.
During our presence a milkman came in his van
and collected 125 liters of milk. He measured
the fat content that was 8.5 and entered it in a
booklet provided to each family. The rate was Rs
3.60 per unit of fat per liter and payments were
generally made on weekly basis. The milk is
collected again in the evening. Maldharis were
complaining about the scarcity of fodder making
cattle raring difficult and uneconomical.
Unemployment among the young generation
is another matter of concern. However, I was
pleasantly surprised to see a teacher taking 7
kids from the four families residing in Dudhara
Ness to near by school building. The school is
being run under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan of the
Government of India. The teacher was also from
the Maldharis. Although the people from old
generation are mostly illiterate the young
generation is becoming literate, mostly they end
studies by the 10th class.
We returned to the guest house by about 11AM
and left again to see the Lion at 3.30 PM. It seems
the trackers had located a Lion taking rest. The
jeep covered about 25 km to reach the spot.
Already number of private vehicles were there
with tourists, both Indian and foreigner. One by
one each vehicle was allowed to go near the
spot, keeping a safe distance from the Lion that
was taking rest. We were last to move close to
the Lion. The jeep was kept at safe distance and
from where we were able to see the Lion clearly.
April 2011
It was lying on its back, eyes closed with right
leg resting on the ground and the left leg was
lifted in the air. While we were watching the Lion
it moved its left leg and for once it glanced at us
giving an opportunity to see the full face. It
resumed its posture without bothering for the
onlookers. We watched the fully grown Lion for
some time as it continued resting with no sign
to move. We were told the Lion would get up
only after the sun sets and then move through
out the night. It prays only when hungry.
Generally, the Lions eat once in three or four days
and not daily like human being. There are about
43000 spotted deer and 411 Lion in Gir Forests
(census 2010).
After a satisfactory sighting of the Lion we
proceeded to another spot about 3 km away
where a Lioness was resting. Before we reached
near her it got up and started moving. We were
advised to wait on the road. Soon we saw the
Lioness coming out on the road in front of us. It
slowly crossed the road and moved inside the
forest. It again appeared on the road, on the back
side of our jeep. The Lioness then started walking
on the road with measured strides of a cat-walk.
It roared and moved. The driver turned the jeep
and followed the big cat slowly. We continued to
VANA PREMI
follow her for some more time and watched its
slow movement till it disappeared into the
forests. It was a wonderful sighting and we
enjoyed every moment watching the majestic
animal moving freely in the wild. Dusk was
approaching and with the fading light it was time
to go out of the Sanctuary.
On our way back we spotted a male and fully
grown male Sambhar. It had antler only on the
left side. It might have lost the other antler in
fighting. We also saw a family of wild Boars
crossing the road. The dusk was nearing. The
western sky was looking red as the sun was
approaching the horizon. The birds were
returning to their home and there chirping was
resounding that filled the forests. Soon the sun
was set and we returned to the guest house with
full satisfaction.
I am thankful to the Gujrat Forest Department,
and especially to Sri Pradip Khanna, IFS, PCCF
Gujrat, for providing this opportunity. The
ambience at Sasan Gir was very beautiful with
good facilities for stay, including facilities for
meals. I convey my special thanks to Dr. Sandeep
Kumar IFS, DCF Sasan Gir and his staff for making
my visit a memorable one.

As Gold is tested in four ways by rubbing, cutting, heating and

beating-so a man should be tested by these four things; his
renunciation, his conduct, his qualities, and his actions. (Chanakya)

19
April 2011
"FORESTS IN CRISIS” – II
THREATS TO CONTEND WITH
By
J V Sharma
In the earlier article titled “Forests in Crisis”
published in March 2011 issue of Vana Premi, an
attempt has been made to argue that there were
no justifiable reasons for Government of India to
place reliance on the facts incorporated in the
“Statement of Objects and Reasons’ in support
of the Forest Rights Bill presented to the
Parliament in December 2005 and that the
reasons given are least convincing. It otherwise
means that the legislation i.e. Forest Rights Act
materialized on the basis of untenable grounds.
We have dealt to some extent the circumstances
that compelled the Government in power to go
for the legislation and there are some other
reasons which need mention in this context.
Unless the entire story is known and understood
in its right perceptive, it will remain an unsolved
puzzle.
The view held by the Ministry of Environment &
Forests, GOI, as could be seen from their letter
No. 13-1/90/-FP (1) dated 18th September 1990
addressed to the Secretaries in charge of Forest
Departments of various States, was that
“Encroachments of forest land for cultivation and
other purposes continues to be the most
pernicious practice endangering the forest
resources throughout the country. Statistical
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VANA PREMI
information compiled by the then Ministry of
Agriculture during early eighties revealed that
nearly 7 lakh hectares of forest land was under
encroachment in the country about a decade
back. This is despite of the fact that prior to 1980
, a number of States had regularized such
encroachments periodically and approximately
43 lakh hectares of forest land was diverted for
various purposes between 1951 and 1980, and
more than half of it for agriculture. The decisions
of the State Governments to regularize
encroachments from time to time seem to have
acted as strong an inducement for further
encroachments in forest areas and the problem
remained as elusive as ever for want of an
effective and concerted drive against this evil
practice. ”
What is more significant is that the GOI made it
abundantly clear in this very document that “In
no case encroachments, which have taken place
after 24.10.1980, should be regularized.
Immediate action should be taken to evict the
encroachers.”
It needs to be remembered that “Forests” was a
subject included in the State List of Seventh
Schedule of the Constitution of India. The
April 2011
damage caused to the forests while they were
under exclusive State Control was highlighted
by the GOI in the letter referred above. Contents
of the said letter were an indictment of the
management of forests by States and an
expression of displeasure over the way the forest
wealth was abused.
In fact the GOI was aware of the mismanagement
of forests in States much earlier. But no tangible
action could be initiated to stem the rot as the
issue was totally in States’ domain. Imposition of
Emergency in 1975 provided great opportunity
to environmentalists and nature lovers to
highlight the importance of forests and the issue
caught the imagination of the Central
Government and it was accepted as one of the
priority items for development. The Prime
Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay
Gandhi were ardent believers in conservation
of forests. Despite bitter political differences and
divergent opinions on several vital issues during
and after the Emergency, the importance of
forests was never a bone of contention between
the feuding politicians. There was some healthy
and constructive debate over the forests &
environment identifying the grey areas and legal
inadequacies which paved the way for ‘corrective
actions’ resulting in 42nd Amendment to the
Constitution. The following were the most
momentous and notable developments of the
Emergency Period as far as forests are
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concerned:
1. Article 48-A reading “The State shall
Endeavour to protect and improve the
environment and to safeguard the forests
and wildlife of the country” was added in the
Constitution by 42nd Amendment w.e.f.
03.01.1977.
2. Part IV-A of Fundamental Duties as Article
51-A containing clauses (a) to (f ) was
inserted in Constitution by 42nd
Amendment w.e.f. 03.01.1977. Art. 51 (g)
reading “It shall be the duty of every citizen
of India to protect and improve the
environment including the forests, lakes,
rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion
for living creatures.” is particularly
important.
3. Insertion of 17-A Forests and 17-B
Protection of wild animals and birds as
subjects in Concurrent List of Seventh
Schedule under Art. 246 of the Constitution
by 42nd Amendment w.e.f. 03.01.1977.
It is of significance that all the three events
occurred during Emergency Rule. Though Ms.
Indira Gandhi lost power in General Elections
that immediately followed Emergency and
some of the legislative provisions brought in by
her were reversed during Janata Party Rule, the
changes in policy in respect of forests made by
her remained undisturbed. It is a tribute to her
capacity to appreciate of ground situation and
April 2011
the courage & sagacity to do what she believed
in. She stands fully vindicated on this score. But,
having lost power, she could not take her agenda
of enacting a Forest Law and enabling legislation
to fruition.
In a way, the period Ms. Indira Gandhi was out of
power, made her more pragmatic. Forced leisure
permitted her to see and understand the Nature
better. She felt there is the need to ensure
accountability and transparency in dealing with
forests. No sooner she was back in power, she
brought in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons
accompanying the Bill introduced in Parliament
are self speaking; “Deforestation, which causes
ecological imbalance and leads
environmental deterioration, had been taking
place on a large scale in the country and it had
caused wide-spread concern.” “With a view to
checking further deforestation, the President
promulgated on 25th October, 1980, the Forest
(Conservation) Ordinance, 1980. The Ordinance
made the prior approval of the Central
Government necessary for de-reservation of
reserved forests and for use of forest land for non-
forest purposes. The Ordinance also provided for
the constitution of an advisory committee to
advise the Central Government with regard to
grant of such approval.” The Bill was passed by
both the houses of Parliament, received the
assent of the President and came on the Statute
VANA PREMI
Book as Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
It can be seen that the Government of the day
was convinced that deforestation was taking
place on large scale and that it was expedient to
bring in Forest Conservation Act to check further
damage. At the same time, being a shrewd
politician, she was also conscious of the fact that
developmental needs had also to be addressed.
A delicate balance had to be struck and she
succeeded in making it a regulatory legislation
rather than a prohibitory law. It is a very simple
law wherein approval of Central Government
was mandatory whenever forest land was
diverted for non-forestry use. A mechanism for
compliance was also put in place. In other words,
to forest land will be available for genuine
purposes. The Act however made it difficult to
get forest land for unjustifiable causes.
Unrest in Punjab followed by her assassination
pushed the forest agenda to background. Her
son Rajiv Gandhi, despite unprecedented
mandate in his favor, did not have the steely
determination or commitment his mother had.
His priorities were to prepare the nation for 21st
century and the forests did not figure high on his
agenda. People, who hoped that the draft
comprehensive Forest Act gathering dust in
some obscure corner of Paryavaran Bhavan
would see the light of the day, were sorely
disappointed. However, it was during his tenure
22
April 2011
as Prime Minister, the National Forest Policy,
1988 was unveiled in place of earlier 1952 Policy.
Post-Rajiv Gandhi period did not witness
anything that can be considered good for forests.
Thus the forests received good attention only
between 1976 and 1984.
Forest Conservation Act had effectively curtailed
the unfettered liberty of States to misuse the
forests. With phenomenal increase in
population, the pressure on forest land increased
and the government lands outside forests were
already (mis)used up. Attention then turned to
forest land but the States could not dole out the
forest land on account of Conservation Act. At
the same time, the States were not prepared to
deal with encroachments firmly for reasons of
electoral gains. A sort of unwritten
understanding materialized between the States
and Centre according to which people could be
encouraged to resort to large scale
encroachments and Forest Departments could
register cases but were not permitted to evict
the encroachers treating it as human problem.
Persons at helm after Indira Gandhi did not have
the awareness or knowledge or temperament
or courage to deal with the situation firmly. Lack
of political will and pathological incompetence
of the ruling elite to curb the illegal trends, ably
supported by pliant bureaucracy and timid
forest set-up have virtually thrown the forests
open for pillage and occupation. All this
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VANA PREMI
happened in the face of clear policy enunciation
“Encroachment on forest lands has been on the
increase. This trend has to be arrested and
effective action taken to prevent its continuance.
There should be no regularization of existing
encroachments” (Para 4.8.1. of National Forest
Policy, 1988). It will not be incorrect to say that
the Governments at Centre and States have
wantonly allowed the illegal occupation of
forest lands for electoral benefits in utter
disregard to the prevalent laws. There may be
some black sheep in the ranks of the Forest
Department who went soft over the issue to
please their political masters, but there is ample
evidence on record to show that the Department
was effectively prevented from discharging their
legitimate duty by the Governments in power.
Once it was clear that no punitive action and
evictions were forthcoming, the fig leaf of fear
for law dropped and illegal encroachments in
forests became common and widespread.
An encroachment in forest is an offence under
Forest Law. Whenever an encroachment takes
place, self-appointed lobbies of the offenders
try to paint it as a rightful act by poor tribals and
it is their land. What needs to be understood in
this context is that all the forest area is not a
tribal area (schedule area) and all the
encroachers are not tribals. Any action taken
against the offenders is painted as an “excess”
against the tribals.
April 2011 VANA PREMI

Coming back to the story of encroachments and environment and forests under Art. 48-A of the
the clandestine support extended by the State, Constitution and similarly, the citizen is duty
the malady snowballed into an uncontrollable bound, under Art. 51 (g),to protect and improve
situation and the Government could not afford the forests and environment. These two
to continue the uncertainty over illegal provisions, read together, convey an
occupations indefinitely. The encroachers are unmistakable message that the forest land
bonafide citizens of India. The politicians need which is an essential component of environment
their votes and a quid pro quo had to emerge. can neither be given by Government nor taken
Having created the Frankenstein, it had become by a citizen. The Forest Rights Act, therefore, does
necessary for the polity acquiesce to its demands. not measure up to the test of Constitutional
As the National Forest Commission under Justice validity.
B N Kirpal lamented, the trees have no votes. It is
The Central Empowered Committee (CEC),
to regularize these encroachments the
appointed by the Supreme Court of India, had in
Government brought in the Forest Rights Act.
its report as far back as 2002 itself, identified the
Traditionally identified factors which harm the following 14 reasons for continuing
forests are human, grazing and fires. The damage encroachments on forest land and extremely
perpetrated by the man is so colossal; the other slow pace of their removals:
factors pale into insignificance. Besides (i) Lack of political will
encroachments, the man is responsible for the (ii) Victimization of officials
damage to forests in several ways which defy (iii) Expectation of regularizations
imagination. Smuggling, poaching, mining, saw (iv) Totally inadequate punishments
mills, wood based industries, defective (v) Inadequate provisions of law
management practices injurious to forests are (vi) No punishment for abettors
some of the visible causes. (vii) Poor boundary demarcations
(viii) Mutation in revenue records
“Ignorance is bliss” said some wise man in the
(ix) No compensation for environmental
past. So long as one is unaware of the quantum
losses
of damage, it does not mean much to him. If one
(x) Diversion of staff for miscellaneous
wantonly contributes for manifestation of
activities
environmental hazards, it is no less than a crime.
(xi) Law and order problem linked with
The State stands accountable in this regard. The
encroachment removal
State is duty bound to protect and improve
24
April 2011
(xii) Immunity under Section 197 of Cr. P C.
(xiii) Misuse of the SC/ST Atrocities Act
(xiv) No administrative control over notified,
deemed forest
There is yet another reason which the CEC did
not mention and it is ‘political interference’. In
fact political interference in day to day
administration is by far the most important factor
for degeneration of values in public life. Political
interference in events like evictions is only
common. Gone are the days when the
Department chose its personnel on the criterion
of suitability. Decisive action as per stipulated
procedures cannot be expected from persons
hand-picked for posting by politicians in their
areas. Thus the Department is in a kind of
paralysis unable to do what it should do.
According to the CEC report, the environmental
value of one hectare of fully stocked forest of 1.0
density is Rs. 126.74 lakhs over a period of 50
years as per the assessments made by the
Ministry of Environment & Forests. An extent of
14.44 lakh acres of forest land is lost so far in
Andhra Pradesh due to implementation of Forest
Rights Act. The environmental loss sustained at
That knowledge is different from that derived from
testimony or through inference, because it relates to
particulars of objects. (Yoga Sutra)
25
VANA PREMI
the average density of 0.5 works out to a mind
boggling figure of Rs. 3,66,000 crores.
The Apex Court has said a lot already on
environment. Evidently all that had fallen on deaf
ears. Or else, we wouldn’t see the abuse of nature
as it is now happening. The lead for a change for
better has to come from the Government. But
that does not seem possible given its
insensitivity to environmental issues. I find it
appropriate to quote the first few sentences of
an Order dated 30.10.2001 of the Supreme Court
of India in I.A. No. 670 of 2001in Writ Petition (C)
No. 202 of 1995:
By destroying nature, environment, man is
committing matricide, having in a way killed
Mother Earth. Technological excellence, growth
of industries economical gains have led to
depletion of natural resources irreversibly.
Indifference to the grave consequences, lack of
concern and foresight has contributed in large
measures to the alarming position.”
That the Government ignored this caution for
almost a decade now does not inspire any
confidence for future. Let us have at least the
‘mother sentiment’ if not any other.
April 2011
DRAG IN TO THE NET
By
V.SANTHASELA BABU
While I was working as Forest Range officer
Flying Squad Party, Rapur in Nellore District
during 1975, this incident took place. It was again
the operation ‘Secret Service’ contemplated by
Mr. K. Rajasekhara Reddy and operated by myself
on the stage and Mr. Ch. Syamasundaram from
behind the curtain.
On an evening while I was at Tirupati, Mr.
Syamasundaram came to me along with a driver
of an Ambassador car owned by a retired Sub-
Inspector of Police and informed me that some
Redsanders wood smugglers belonging to a
village Dodlamitta near Renigunta have
approached the driver for transport of
Redsanders wood to Madras and that the driver,
who is an informant set up by Mr.
Syamasundaram, came away saying that he
would obtain permission from his owner for the
same, came to Mr. Syamasundaram and
informed him about the fact. So both of them
came to me to discuss about it and plan the
further course of action. It was an established
fact that even if this driver refuses to take up the
transport, they would approach somebody else,
pushes through their activity and we will not
know about their further movements.
In view of the above, I and Mr. Syam decided to
grab the opportunity and try to take control of
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VANA PREMI
the situation in a manner that is advantageous
to the Department. We planned in detail and
asked the driver to agree for the transaction
and follow them to the scene of storage of the
Redsanders wood. After seeing the location and
the material, he was advised to project a
technical snag in the car and tell them that the
car can not take the load due to the breakdown.
He was advised to convince them that he would
bring another car from Tirupati and take up the
transport. We also warned him that under no
circumstances he should load the material in
his car but bring back the persons along with
him and on their return, we will intercept his
vehicle and catch them and while interrogation
he should reveal about the place of loading and
take us to the place and show the material.
The driver agreed for the same and left the
place. The approximate place of location of the
produce, as mentioned by the persons who
approached the driver, was informed to us by
him.
Then we went to my D.F.O Mr. B.Venkata Narayan
and informed him about the facts. The D.F.O was
annoyed as there was a risk of forcibly loading
the material in to the vehicle by the smugglers
as the driver would be alone. Once the material
is loaded and if the vehicle is caught by us how
April 2011
can we leave the vehicle and justify the booking
of the case without the vehicle? He said that we
will be giving room for leveling of unnecessary
allegations if something went wrong. He said
that he would come along with us and supervise
the raid so that he can tell anybody that
everything was organized in his presence. That
was the bold attitude of our Officers in those days
in protecting and guiding their staff.
As planned, myself, our D.F.O and Mr.
Shyamasundaram along with the staff
proceeded to our predestined point at about 10
PM to intercept the vehicle and lay in wait by
ambushing ourselves, for the arrival of the
vehicle. At about 11 PM we noticed the car
entering in to the kutcha road nearby. We were
attentive and waiting for the car to return.
Around 12 midnight we noticed the car
returning on to the main road and as soon as it
came nearer to us we blocked the road and
stopped it. As soon as the car was stopped, we
took care to see that none of the inmates of the
car could get down and run away. There were
two persons other than the driver and no
material was found loaded in the car. On
interrogation the other two persons were not
coming out with the truth and they were saying
that they went to a nearby village to see their
ailing relative. I pretended as if I was beating the
driver while interrogating him and the driver
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VANA PREMI
started weeping and asked me not to beat him
and that he would divulge the facts. He said that
on the instance of the other two persons, he went
to load the Redsanders wood in his car and as his
car developed a technical snag, he was unable
to load the material in his car and that they were
returning to fetch another car for transporting
the Redsanders wood.
When asked to show us the place of storage of
Redsanders wood, he readily agreed to do so.
Then I sat in the car and the D.F.O and others
followed in the Jeep and we reached the place
of storage of Redsanders wood. It was covered
under sand and we fetched some crowbars and
spades from the nearby village and unearthed
the same.
Altogether there were 53 Redsanders logs
weighing about 2 Tones. We sent word for
Panchayathdars and conducted Panchanama
and took the measurements and weights of the
logs and booked an Offence case with the 2
accused. After returning to Tirupati, the owner
of the car came to us frightened to know about
the plight of his car. I told him that his car was
engaged by us on hire to organize the raid and
there was no necessity for him to get worried.
The D.F.O congratulated me and Mr. Shhyam for
the efforts put forth by us in booking the case.
But we were highly thankful to our D.F.O for the
support and moral courage he gave us.
April 2011 VANA PREMI

he accused were arrested and they were
produced in the Court and were remanded to
judicial custody. After a week or so one of the
accused arrested came out on bail and met me
secretly and said that he would pass on the
information regarding the smuggling of
Redsanders wood in his village and also in the
surrounding villages and asked me to help him
in the case. I told him that I will not help him in
the case but pay him some money depending
upon the information passed on by him as an
informant reward. He agreed for the same and
left. Subsequently as long as the case was under
trial he was a source of valuable information to
me who passed on precise information’s in
successful booking of many Redsanders cases.
Finally after conclusion of the proceedings of the
case in the Court, he was sentenced to undergo
an imprisonment for one year along with his
accomplice and I lost touch with him after he
went to Jail to undergo his term of
imprisonment. Thus we dragged the smugglers
in to our ‘Net’ through ‘Secret Service’ and saw
that they were punished according to Law.

INVITATTION
The Association of Retired Forest Officers, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad Congratulates the following
Forest Officers, who are retiring from service on attaining the age of superannuation on the dates
mentioned against their names and cordially invites them to join the Association of Retired Forest
Officers to keep in touch with their old colleagues and to keep themselves occupied.
For further details they may contact the following –
Sri. K. Santokh Singh, Secretary Mobile Number…. 9848808101
Sri. P. Upender Reddy, Jt.Secretary Mobile Number….9848754778
Name of SFS Officer Date of Retirement Name of the IFS officer Date of retirement
Sardar IqbalSingh 30-04-2011 Sri C. Sammi Reddy 30-04-2011
K.Rajendra Prasad 3004-2011
B.Gandhi Reddy 30-04-2011 Secretary

Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you,
apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest
man who you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you complete is
going to be of any use to him…..than you will find your doubt and
yourself melt away. (M.K.Gandhi)

28
April 2011 VANA PREMI

29
April 2011
ROLL OF HONOUR
Sri A. Kondal Rao, F.R.O.
Late Sri A. Kondal Rao was a conscientious
forester who rose to the rank of Range Officer by
dint of his hard work and sincerity. In 1990, he
was working as Range Officer, Bijjur Range,
Kaghaznagar division in Adilabad district / circle.
He was very sensitive and caring for forest
protection wherever he worked.
On February 24, 1990, he along with his Clerk
and field staff visited the division headquarters
Kaghaznagar and, sitting in a department
building, was working on preparing some data
for making a report to the division office. In the
meantime two intruders with guns entered the
room where the Range Officer was working and
fired at him at point blank range. It was found
that the intruders were no other than naxalites
as revealed by their shouting in telugu, “ Idi
Elkapally Debba” – meaning this is the price the
Range Officer is paying for his work at Elkapally
village.
On coming to know of the ghastly incident, the
D.F.O. rushed to the scene of crime and swiftly
shifted the victim to the ESI Hospital, hardly at a
When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within
and examine your own self.(Confucius)
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VANA PREMI
distance of about 200 meters away. But alas,
Kondal Rao passed away in a short time.
The naxalites have been threatening Kondal Rao
for some time stating that he would be
‘punished’ for his harshness with the public. He
did not care for the threats and went on carrying
his normal functions.
A few days before Kondal Rao was shot to death,
there was an offence of encroachment in
reserved forest at Elkapally village. Kondal Rao,
as a call of duty, booked a case and prosecuted
the offenders. In retaliation, the extremists killed
him mercilessly.
Kondal Rao was a disciplined officer, kind and
cordial to his subordinates and courteous to his
superiors.
He lost his life for a simple reason for performing
his duty and reached martyrdom. In the death of
Kondal Rao, the department has lost a sincere
and disciplined officer.
May his noble soul rest in peace!
K.B.R.
April 2011
CLIMATE CHANGE RECONSIDERED
[In the month of January 2011 Forum for Good Governance conducted a talk on Climate
Change. There was some interesting discussion on the subject. The gist of discussions, leaving
technical matters is reproduced here for the information of Vanapremi readers]
M. Padmanabha Reddy
In the year 1986 United Nation Environment
Program (UNEP) established the Intergovern-
mental panel on Climate Change (I.P.C.C.) as an
organ of the United Nations. The role of the
I.P.C.C. “is to assess on a comprehensive,
objective, open and transparent basis the latest
scientific, technical and socio-economic
literature produced worldwide relevant to the
understanding of The Risk of human induced
climatic change is observed and projected
impacts and options for adaptation and
mitigation”. The I.P.C.C. has prepared four
Assessment Reports (AR) the first being in the
year 1990 followed by second report in 1996,
third in 2001 and the Fourth (AR 4) in the year
2007. The reports of I.P.C.C. are marred by
controversy and so frequently contradicted by
subsequent research. Its preconceived agenda
to find evidence of a human role in Climate
Change is a major reason.
When new errors, and outright falsehoods, were
observed in AR4 of I.P.C.C. Nongovernmental
International panel on Climate Change (N.I.P.C.C.)
consisting of large group of international scholars
started working on it to produce independent
evaluation. The N.I.P.C.C. examined the same
original data examined by I.P.C.C. of United
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VANA PREMI
Nations and reached to different conclusions.
(For details see www.sepp.org, www.co2
science.org and www.heartland.org) . About
31,748 American Scientists of whom 9029
individuals with Ph.Ds have submitted a petition
to U.S. government. They said “There is no
convincing scientific evidence that human
release of Carbon dioxide, Methane or other
Green house gases (reduction in forest cover) is
causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause
catastrophic heating of the earth’s atmosphere
and disruption of the earth’s climate. Moreover,
there is substantial scientific evidence that
increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce
many beneficial effects upon the natural plants
and animal environments of the Earth”.
While the AR4 of I.P.C.C. of United Nations is an
impressive document, it is far from being a
reliable work on some of the most important
aspects of climate change science and policy.
Most of the observed increase in global average
temperatures since the mid 20th century is very
likely due to the observed increase in
anthropogenic green house gas (G.H.G)
concentration. The I.P.C.C., does not apply
generally accepted methodologies to
determine what fraction of current warming is
April 2011
natural or how much is caused by the raise in
G.H.G. The I.P.C.C. continues to under value the
overwhelming evidence that on decade and
century long time scale, the sun and associated
atmospheric cloud effects are responsible for
much of past climate changes. It is therefore
highly likely that the sun is also a major cause of
20th century warming, with anthropogenic
G.H.G making only a minor contribution. These
errors and omissions are documented in the
report of Nongovernmental International panel
on Climate Change. In brief the key findings are:
) The I.P.C.C. places great confidence in
the ability of general circulation models to
stimulate future climate and attribute observed
climate changes to anthropogenic emissions of
G.H.G.
The N.I.P.C.C. feels that today the state-of-the-
art Climate models fails to accurately assess
cloud formations and cloud-radiation
interactions, resulting in large differences
between model prediction and observations.
Computer models have failed to stimulate even
the sign of observed precipitation anomalies,
such as monsoons over the Indian region. Yet it
is understood that precipitation plays a major
role in climate change.
) The I.P.C.C. claim to find evidence in
temperature records that the warming of the
20th century was “unprecedented” and more
rapid than during any previous period in the past
1300 years.
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VANA PREMI
The N.I.P.C.C. feels that a corrected temperature
record shows temperatures around the world
were warmer during the medieval warm periods
of approximately 1000 years ago than they are
today.
Highly accurate satellite data show a much more
modest warming trend in the last two decades
of the 20th century and a dramatic decline in
the warming trend in the first decade of the 21st
century.
The mean rate of global sea level rise has not
accelerated over the recent past. The
determinants of sea level are poorly understood
due to considerable uncertainty associated with
a number of basic parameters that are related
to the water balance of the world’s oceans and
evidence show that much of the reported
thinning of Arctic sea ice that occurred in the
1990s was a natural consequence of change in
ice dynamics caused by an atmospheric regime
shift totally irrespective of past or future changes
in the air’s co2 content.
The cumulative discharge of world’s rivers remained
statistically unchanged between 1950 and 2000. A
finding that contradicts computer forecasts that a
warmer world would cause large changes in global
stream flow characteristics. Droughts and floods
have been found to be less frequent and severe
during the current warm period than during past
periods when temperatures were even higher than
they are today.
April 2011
) The I.P.C.C. predicts that a warmer planet
will lead to more extreme weather characterized
by more frequent and severe episodes of
droughts, flooding, cyclones, precipitation
variability, and wild fires. But has the last century
– during which the I.P.C.C. claims the world
experienced more rapid warming than any time
in the past two millennia – experienced
significant trends in any of these extreme
weather events? The N.I.P.C.C. claims that
droughts have not become more extreme or
erratic in response to Global Warming. Real –
world evidence from Africa, Asia and other
continents find no trend towards more frequent
or more severe droughts. Again, floods were
more frequent and more severe during the little
ice Age than they have been during the current
warm period.
A 300 ppm increase in the air’s Co2 content
typically raises the productivity of herbaceous
plants by about one – third. For woody plants
the response is even greater. The amount of
carbon plants gain per unit of water use
efficiency raises as the Co2 content in the air
raises, greatly increasing their ability to
withstand drought. As the air’s Co2 content
continues to raise, plants will likely exhibit
enhanced rates of photosynthesis and biomass
production that will not be diminished by global
warming that might occur concurrently. Elevated
Co2 reduces and overrides the negative effects
of ozone pollution on plant photosynthesis,
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VANA PREMI
growth and yield.
) The I.P.C.C. claims “new evidence
suggests that Climate - driven extinctions and
range retractions are already widespread and the
projected impact on biodiversity are significant
and of key relevance, since global losses in
biodiversity are irreversible.
The N.I.P.C.C. claims that the world’s species have
proven to be remarkably resilient to Climate
Change. Most wild species are at least one
million years old, which means they have all been
through hundreds of Climatic cycles involving
temperature changes on par with or greater than
those experienced in the 20th Century. The four
known causes of extinction are huge asteroids
striking the planet, human hunting, human
agriculture and the introduction of alien species.
None of these causes are connected with either
global temperature or atmospheric Co2
concentrations.
) The I.P.C.C. alleges that “Climate Change
currently contributes to the global burden of
disease and premature deaths” and will increase
malnutrition and consequent disorders.
The N.I.P.C.C. feels that the over whelming
weight of evidence shows that higher
temperatures and raising of Co2 levels have
played an indispensable role in making it
possible to feed a growing global population
without encroaching on natural eco system.
April 2011
Global warming reduces the incidence of
cardiovascular disease related to low
temperatures. Mortality due to respiratory
diseases decreases, as temperature raise.
Polar bears have survived changes in climate
that exceeds those occurred during the 20th
century or are forecast by the I.P.C.C. computer
models. Further most populations of polar bears
are growing, not shrinking and the biggest
influence on polar bear populations is not
temperature but hunting by humans which
VANA PREMI
historically has taken a large toll of polar bear
populations.
The historical increase of the air’s Co2 content
has probably helped lengthen human life spans
since the advent of Industrial Revolution and its
continued upward trend will likely provide
more of the same benefit.
To conclude it is hoped that the study by
Nongovernmental International panel on
Climate Change will throw some light on the
debate over Climate Change.

LAUGHTER THE BEST MEDICINE

The local bar was so sure that its bartender was the strongest man around that they had a
standing Rs 10,000 bet. The bartender would squeeze a lemon until all the juice ran into a glass,
and hand the lemon to a patron. Anyone who could squeeze one more drop of juice out would
win the money.

Many people had tried over time but nobody could do it. One day, a scrawny little man came in,
wearing thick glasses.

"I'd like to try the bet," he said in a tiny, squeaky voice. After the laughter had died down, the
bartender grabbed a lemon, and squeezed away. He handed the wrinkled remains of the rind to
the little man. But the crowd's laughter turned to total silence as the man clenched his fist
around the lemon and six drops fell into the glass.

As the crowd cheered, the bartender paid Rs 10,000 and asked the little man what he did for a
living. Was he a lumberjack, or a weightlifter, or what?

"I work for the Income Tax department."

(Contributed by Sri K. Buchi Ram Reddy, with thanks)

34
April 2011
MINUTES OF 59TH GENERAL BODY MEETING HELD
on 13-03-2011 at KBR Park, Jubili Hills, Hyderabad
At the outset Sri K.Santokh Singh, Secretary of
the Association, welcomed the Members &
Ladies to the 59th General Body meeting. The
President, Vice President, Jt. Secretary and Editor,
Vana Premi were requested to occupy their seats
on dias. The Secretary also welcomed Sri Ch.Iyliah
& Sri.M.Purushotham Reddy, newly joined
members, to the meeting and introduced them
to the members. The agenda was then placed
before the President with a request to preside
over the function.
1). Shraddhanjali: The members stood in
silence for two minutes to pay homage to the
departed souls of Sri P.Kista Reddy, Sri Hussain
Khan, Mrs.S.Appa Rao, who expired recently, and
also to the victims of earth quake in Japan.
2). Action taken Report of the Secretary: The
Secretary presented the action taken report on
the deliberations of 58th GBM held on19 /12/
2010 and 70th ECM held on 13/02/2011. After
due deliberations, the following decisions were
taken-.
A).Welfare Fund - The General Body
appreciated the efforts of the Executive
Committee in collecting an amount of
Rs.1,25000/-with in a short period of about (6)
months and unanimously agreed to the proposal
of involving working officers in achieving the
goal.
Sri Sultan Mohiuddin, who spearheaded this
programme, also appreciated the progress and
promised to hasten up his efforts to contribute
35
VANA PREMI
the money promised by him with in next Three
months. Sri S.K.Das once again made a suggestion
to study and present cases of deserving persons
so as to adopt them for help.
B).The General Body welcomed the decision
of approaching all the Corporations headed by
the forest officers in getting advertisements for
VANA PREMI.
C). The General Body agreed to the proposal
of the Joint Secretary cum Treasurer to open a
second bank account in INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK
Vijay Nagar Colony.
D). C.G.H.S : Sri T.Narayana Swamy made a
detailed talk on Central Government Health
Scheme and cleared the doubts expressed by
the members. The President requested the
speaker to prepare brief note on all the points
explained by him and get it published in VANA
PREMI for the benefit of the members.
3. Vote of Thanks- Sri P.Upender Reddy,
Jt.Secretary cum Treasurer proposed vote of
thanks to ladies and members who attended the
meeting braving the hot Sun. Thanks were
extended to the Wild Life Division staff for
providing meeting hall and also for making
necessary arrengements. On behalf of all the
members, sincere thanks were extended to Sri
S.D.Mukherji and Sri K.MuraliKrishna Rao, who
hosted LUNCH to the members. Sri Ch. Iyliah, Sri
V.Ranga Rao and Sri A.V.Govindarajulu agreed to
be the HOSTS for the next General Body meeting
Secretary
April 2011 VANA PREMI

36
April 2011 VANA PREMI

Birth Day Greetings

We wish the following born on the dates mentioned
“ A very Happy Birth Day”
S.No. Name of the member D.O.B.
S.No. Name of the S.F.S. Oficer D.O.B.
Sarva Sri
Sarva Sri
1. Munawar Hussain 09-04-1924
1. G.Kista Goud 08-04-1974
2. A.Ramakrishna 10-04-1923
2. Sardar Iqbql Singh 09-04-1953
3. V.Subbaraghaviah 10-04-1935
3. Y.Rajendra 11-04-1955
4. S.Krishnaiah 15-04-1952
4. K.Rajendra Prasad 14-04-1953
5. S.Veerabhadram 17-04-1950
5. P.Ramakrishna 15-04-1956
6. N.Manohar Rao 01-05-1942
6. L.Bheemaiah 17-04-1964
7. G.Prabhakar Reddy 02-05-1952
7. K.Rajasekhara Rao 20-04-1968
8. P.Kanakaratnam 05-05-1949
8. A.Parthasarathy 22-04-1956
9. G.Satyanarayana 05-05-1950
9. B.Vijaya Kumar 24-04-1968
S.No. Name of the I.F.S. Oficer D.O.B.
10. B.Gandhi Reddy 30-04-1953
Sarva Sri 11. D.Basava Sankar Rao 01-05-1954
1. B.Shafiullah 13-03-01976 12. P.Srinivasa Rao 01-05-1954
1. Smt.Shanthi Priya Pandey 08-04-1972 13. P.Venkateshwarlu 01-05-1962
2. Rakesh Mohan Dobriyal 10-04-1965 14. B.Nagaraju 01-05-1963
3. J.V.K.T.Prabhakar Rao 15-04-1953 15. M.Joji 04-05-1967
4. B.N.N.Murthy 19-04-1979 S.K
5. S.V.Kumar 21-04-1953
6. K.N.Benerji 26-04-1954
7. Md.Jalaluddin Akbar 26-04-1962
8. R.U.Kashappa 01-05-1958
9. C.Sammi Reddy 01-05-1951
10. Kallol Biswas 04-05-1964
11. P.Mallikarjuna Rao 04-05-1958
37
April 2011
NEWS AND NOTES
1. Tiger man Fateh Singh passes away: - India’s
best known tiger conservationist Fateh Singh
Rathore who became synonymous with Project
Tiger died of cancer at his home in Sawai
Madhapur in Rajasthan on 1-3-2011, Tuesday.
Rathore was 72. A former Field Director of
Ranthambore National Park. Rathore’s lung
cancer had spread to his ribs and the end came
around 10-45 am. Rathore made his last public
appearance in Jaipur in February when he
received World Wildlife Fund’s Life Time
Achievement Award. (Source: Times of India with
thanks. Readers who know Sri Fateh Singh
Rathore are requested to send articles for
publication )
2.Plastic Waste (Management and Handling)
Rules, 2011:-The Ministry of Environment and
Forests has notified the Plastic Waste
(Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 to
replace the earlier Recycled Plastics
Manufacture and Usage Rules, 1999 (amended
in 2003). These Rules have been brought out
following detailed discussions and consultations
with a wide spectrum of stakeholders including
civil society, industry bodies, relevant Central
Government Ministries and State Governments.
Releasing the Rules the Minister for
Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh said
“It is impractical and undesirable to impose a
blanket ban on the use of plastic all over the
38
VANA PREMI
country. The real challenge is to improve
municipal solid waste management systems. In
addition to the privatization and mechanisation
of the municipal solid waste management
systems must be sensitive to the needs and
concerns of the lakhs of people involved in the
informal sector”.
Source: Ministry of Environment and Forests
3. A mahatma announces fast unto death: -
Anna Hazare has given an ultimatum to the Prime
Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to enact stringent
anti-corruption law – the peoples “Jan Lokpal
Bill”! Jail to the corrupt must happen! We have
been betrayed by those that are leading us!
Anna’s appeal to the people:
• Join me in fasting for one, two, three or
whatever number of days you can
comfortably fast.
• Along with fast, please pray to God
(whoever you believe in) for better and
corruption free India. Collective prayers
from all the people of India would
definitely have a huge impact.
• Write an impassioned plea to our Prime
Minister that we look upon him to pass “Jan
Lokpal Bill”, else we will be compelled not
to vote for his party in next elections.
• Remain calm and peaceful and develop the
courage to go to jail, if required, in this next
freedom movement.
April 2011
4. Plastic for laying of all weather Roads: -
After the city's rain-fed potholes, the transition
to smooth roads within the campus of the
Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE) is more
than a treat. The man behind the tar-topped
tracks, is known as Madurai's ‘Plastic Road Man'.
Always sporting a striking namam on his
forehead, he is as much at ease when he
experiments with chemicals in the science lab,
holding beakers over flames as under a peepul
tree when he talks with a bunch of students at
lunch break, teaching them shlokas from the
Bhagavad Gita.
He could easily be mistaken for a Sanskrit pundit
if you heard him quote the holy text as a solution
to any problem in the world. Mesmerized
students remain tuned in to his discourse. Ever
since he joined TCE in 1975, he has carried the
Gita as a manual for leading life and voluntarily
conducted classes uninterrupted for 36 years.
But Dr. R. Vasudevan, Dean and Head of the
Chemistry Department, is better known as a man
with a mission, and.“Clean India” is his campaign.
The low -profile professor says, “I want to change
the general garbage culture of the people.”
After a decade's hard work and persistent efforts,
his simple invention of a technology to use --
plastic waste to lay roads, patented by TCE, finally
got a shot in the arm last month with the Centre
approving its wider application.
39
VANA PREMI
The day we met Dr. Vasudevan, the skies burst
open. Yet, students assembled in his office room
for the ‘Gita classes. And it turned out to be a
lucky hour. The professor, at his table cluttered
with samples of bitumen blocks, was waving a
special gazette notification of the Ministry of
Environment & Forests dated 4th February, 2011,
directing all municipal authorities across the
country to “encourage use of plastic waste by
adopting suitable technology such as in road
construction...”
Dr. Vasudevan was elated. “This is the first
response of its kind to waste management.,”
It was in 2002 that Dr. Vasudevan laid the first
plastic tar road within the TCE campus. It remains
intact. His interest in the subject began when
he heard a doctor on a TV programme mistakenly
saying that plastic “dissolved” in water bodies
and caused pollution. “It set me thinking … after
all, plastic's raw material is petroleum only. I
immediately came to my lab and started mixing
some waste plastic in heated bitumen (tar).” And
there and then was born a new idea.
When then President Dr. A.P.J. Kalam visited TCE
in 2001, the professor presented his project on
the good bonding and binding factor of plastic
and its potential use as a coating over pebbles
for laying roads. He recalls with a gentle smile,
“He told me, one day your test will become the
convention. Don't worry if people don't approve
or get convinced. You just do your work at your
April 2011
place. As a sample, lay a plastic road within your
campus first. Once the results are there to see,
people will come automatically.”
Though plastic waste has been a nagging
problem for civic authorities, with thousands of
tones of garbage generated every day, it took
years of discussion for Dr. Vasudevan to be
acknowledged by organizations like the Central
Pollution Control Board, National Rural Roads
Development Agency, Central Road Research
Institute, Indian Centre for Plastic Environment
and the National Highways Authority of India. In
every forum, he painstakingly explained and
demonstrated the benefits of road laying using
a polymer-aggregate-bitumen mix.
Even as his technology was being debated in the
government, Dr. Vasudevan started receiving
offers from private companies both within and
outside the country to sell the patent.“But I think
it my duty to serve my country first and therefore,
I gave it free to the Indian Government.” What
he laments is the slow progress, “the plastic
binding with bitumen is an ideal option for roads
that bear the brunt of torrential rains.” Also, he
underlines, if citizens treat their waste properly
by segregating and collecting the plastic, the
country will soon be free of plastic litter and
boast safer and better roads.
is department is now evolving a cold process
technology as well. The Department of Science
and Technology has sanctioned a ‘green
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VANA PREMI
chemistry' project at TCE for producing a 'cold
emulsion' to coat the aggregate instead of using
hot bitumen. Such a process would be highly
useful in laying roads in cold regions. Widener
University, Philadelphia, has already shown
interest in the cold process.
With a low- cost technology that finds a ready
solution for plastic waste management,
Dr.Vasudevan's invention undoubtedly offers a
lesson for all municipal corporations. “It serves
the twin purpose of increasing quality of roads
and also solves the problem of plastic disposal.
The vision should be to eventually replace all
existing roads and lay every new road with this
technology,” says the professor.
The benefits
* Low cost (using less bitumen)
* Simple technology
* Spot use of waste plastic
* Water proof roads that last up to 60 years
* Doubling of road strength
* Higher load- carrying capacity
* Almost zero maintenance
* A new surface without rutting, cracking or
potholes.
What it takes
To lay one km of plastic road 3.75 m wide, 9 tones
of bitumen and 1 tone of waste plastic are
required for coating.
A normal road requires 10 tones bitumen for
each kilometer. So plastic road saves 1 tone
April 2011
bitumen for every kilometer laid. Each tones of
bitumen costs Rs. 50,000 to 60,000.
One tone of plastic waste is equivalent to 10 lakh
carry bags.
Chocolate and biscuit wrappers, tea cups,
polythene bags or any other form of waste
plastic, can simply be shredded and used.
Different types of plastics collected need not be
segregated.
To make enough plastic available, people need
to sell their domestic plastic wastes instead of
throwing them into the dust-bin.
Nearly 4,000 self-help groups and hundreds of
schools in Tamil Nadu are now involved in
collecting and shredding waste plastic.
The patented process
The gravel is heated at 170 degrees C and
shredded plastic sprayed over the hot stone
aggregate. The plastic instantly melts and coats
the gravel without releasing toxic gases into the
atmosphere. Immediately, bitumen heated at
160 degree C is mixed at 155 degrees C and used
for laying the road. Molten plastic with liquid tar
has proven to be more resistant to water
permeation, heat and high pressure than the
normal mixture of stone aggregate and bitumen,
without the plastic.
Plastic roads laid : With the TCE's patented
technology under Dr. Vasudevan's guidance:
*The first ever plastic road (60 feet long) was laid
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VANA PREMI
inside the TCE campus in 2002, followed by a
700 m road in Lenin Nagar, Kovilpatti, and the
same year.
*Officially, the industrial town of Salem was the
first in the country to lay a 350 m road on an
experimental basis using plastic tar technology
in 2004.
*In Tamil Nadu, the District Rural Development
Agency laid 1,200 km of plastic roads in 29
districts across the state under the TN Urban
Local Bodies Road Development Project 2005.
*A km. of road towards Vilacheri from near
Mannar Thirumalai Naicker College Madurai in
March 2005.
* Sri Sundareswara Vidyasala Matriculation
Higher Secondary School at Attukulam village
near Melur, Madurai, has a road entirely laid with
plastic waste collected by the students.
*Several plastic roads were laid in Wellington,
Chennai, Puducherry, Hindupur (Andhra
Pradesh), Kolkata, Goa, Mumbai, Shimla,
Thiruvananthapuram, Vadakara, Calicut,
Kothamangalam and Kochi) in the last few years.
Plans are afoot to lay demonstration roads in
Hyderabad; Mumbai Municipal Corporation now
proposes to lay longer stretches of tar-polymer
roads across Mumbai. The Jamshedpur Utilities
and Services Company, a Tata enterprise,
approached Dr. Vasudevan last November for
using plastic waste in laying roads in
Jamshedpur. (Please see the photograph of
Dr. Vasudevan on the last cover page)
April 2011 VANA PREMI

5.The World’s biggest family: -The man with lesser full moons (when the moon is at its farthest
39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren Ziona from Earth), weather permitting. Yet to the casual
Chana lives with all of them in a 100-room observer, it may be hard to tell the difference.
mansion His wives take it in turns to share his
Speculations of a link between the occurrence
bed It takes 30 whole chickens just to make
of super moons and natural disasters such as
dinner He is head of the world's biggest family -
earthquakes and tsunami are extremely tenuous.
and says he is 'blessed' to have his 39 wives. Ziona
Arguments have been made that natural
Chana also has 94 children, 14-daughters-in-law
disasters coinciding with years in which super
and 33 grandchildren. They live in a 100-room,
moons occurred were influenced by the Moon's
four storey house set amidst the hills of Baktwang
increased gravitational strength, though
village in Mizoram, where the wives sleep in
because of the monthly alternation between
giant communal dormitories. (Please see the last
lunar apogee and perigee such an argument
cover page for Photo)
cannot be supported unless the disaster in
6. Supermoon on March 19, 2011 : - Super question falls on the actual date of the super
moon is a full or new moon that coincides with a moon.
close approach by the Moon to the Earth. The
It has been argued that the Indian Ocean
Moon's distance varies each month between
tsunami and earthquake on December 26, 2004,
approximately 354,000 km and 410,000 km.
was influenced by a super moon which occurred
2 weeks later on January 10, 2005. Most recently,
On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. EST (i.e. 00:30
astrologers argued that the Tohoku earthquake
hrs on Sunday March 20, 2011 IST), the moon will
and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011,
arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2011: a
was influenced by the March 19 super moon,
distance of 356,575 kilometers (221,565 miles)
the closest super moon since 1992.While some
away. And only 50 minutes earlier, the moon will
studies have reported a weak correlation
officially be full. The moon has not been in a
between shallow, very low intensity earthquakes
position to appear this large since March 1993.
and lunar activity, there is no empirical evidence
At its peak, the super moon of March may appear of any correlation with major earthquakes.
14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than

42
April 2011
CENTRAL GOVERNMENT HEALTH SCHEME
By
T.Narayan Swamy
We have a tradition of inviting a person of
eminence in his field for a guest lecture at every
General Body Meeting. As the Association could
not have a guest at this G.B.M. on 13-03-2011, I have
taken the permission of the President of the
Association and utilized the free time available to
share certain information with the members on
the problems of C.G.H.S and other important
matters. I engaged the members for almost an hour
and quarter. No sooner I completed my talk, the
President of the Association told me that what all I
said was very useful to the members and asked
me to give a gist of my speech to the Editor for
publication in Vana Premi .I talked on the following
topics :
1. XII SFRC ALUMNI MEET 2011 : The meet will
be held at Mysore (Karnataka State) from 25-11-
2011 to 28-11-2011.
2. EXECUTION OF WILL ON PROPERTIES :
There will be many a problem if a person owning
properties dies without executing a will. . It is
advisable to execute a will on stamp paper (not
necessary to get it registered) for all the movable
and Immovable properties. For inherited
properties, all the children (sons and daughters)
have an equal right where as for self acquired
properties it is his own discretion. He may or may
not give a share in the property to his sons or
daughters. A copy of the proforma of the will is
appended ( Courtesy AGOPA). In case of any
difficulty please consult a lawyer.
43
VANA PREMI
5. TOURS & TRAVELS : It is proposed to organize
a visit to DUBAI. Every year Dubai shopping festival
is held from 20th January to 20th February. The
package cost during non festival season for 3
nights and 4 days is about Rs.30,000/-.The package
cost during festival for 4 nights and 5 days is also
about Rs.30,000/-. During festival season there will
be heavy discount on purchases made particularly
on Electronic goods.The package includes Air fares,
Lodging in 3 or 4 star Hotels, Breakfast, and visits
excluding the entry fee for Burj Khalifa which is the
tallest building in the world having 200 floors. The
entry fee for Burj Khalifa is Rs.1,800/- per head. The
visits include city tour, Abu dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai
beach, cruising, desert safari etc. Members
intending to join the tour may contact me in the
last week of November 2011.
6. PLASTIC BOTTLES DEADLY FOR BRAIN :
Chemicals in Plastic containers can cause
Alzheimers, Schizophrenia which damage Brain
functions such as learning and remembering,
depression etc. A copy of article is appended.
(Courtesy: AGOPA ).
7. SECRETARIAT ENTRY PASS : The Association of
All India Pensioners Association is arranging
permanent plastic card passes to its members for
entry in to Secrtariat. Members of A.I.S.P.A. who
have not obtained passes may contact the
Association Office ( Vasavi Complex near Dwarka
Hotel ) with two stamp size photographs , Date of
Birth and specimen signature on the card .
April 2011
8. FUNERAL EXPENSES/ OBSEQUIES:
Funeral expenses equivalent to last drawn pension
(including DR) are payable on the demise of All India
Services pensioners as well as State Govt.
Pensioners as per G.O.Ms. No. 566, General
Administration ( BSx ) Dept. dated 28-1-1993. The
dependents of the deceased pensioners residing
and drawing pension in Hyderabad District have
to apply to the District Magistrate & Collector
Hyderabad and those residing out side Hyderabad
District have to apply to the concerned District
Collector along with (1) Death certificate issued by
the Municipality and (2) Last drawn Pension
certificate from the concerned Asst.Pension
Payment Officer or the District Treasury Office, as
the case may be.
9. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT HEALTH SCHEME:
1. The Government of India is contemplating
winding up of the CGHS and provide healthcare
under medical insurance because of some
operational problems and financial constraints.The
All India Pensioner Federations and other
Pensioners Associations are strongly opposing the
move and want the CGHS to continue. The
pensioner community is happy with the scheme
as the beneficiary is entitled to avail the facility
without cash payment.
2. The CGHS beneficiaries are facing a lot of
inconvenience in availing CGHS facility from the
recognised hospitals for the last few years. The
Corporate hospitals are demanding upward
revision of package rates fixed in the year 2002 and
also for payment of pending bill amounts.
44
VANA PREMI
3. The Government of India finally revised the
package rates in the year 2007 and surprisingly
these revised rates were lower than the rates in
vogue. As such the indifferent attitude of the
private hospitals continues.
4. The Government of India closed the three 24
hour dispensaries existing at Malakpet,
Himayathnagar & Begumpet in the year 2008
attributing it as a policy matter. The powers of
Chief Medical Officers were also withdrawn in
referring the patients to recognised hospitals and
the patients driven to Osmania, Gandhi & NIMS
for consultations.
5. At this stage the All India Services Pensioners
Association of Andhra Pradesh took up the
matter with Director CGHS New Delhi and
requested him to sort out the problems.
6. Finally Mr. Vineeth Choudhary IAS Joint
Secretary, Government of India, visited Hyderabad
and held a meeting at K S Bhavan Begumpet on
09/04/2010. In the meeting, the President of All
India Services Pensioners Association Mr. Gopala
Krishna explained the difficulties faced by the
CGHS beneficiaries. He has also requested to allot
in each dispensary separate slot for consultations.
The Joint Secretary was convinced and promised
to look into the matter.
7. On the advise of Joint Secretary Government
of India, the Additional Director CGHS Hyderabad
issued a circular dated 04/05/2010 and directed
the Chief Medical Officers :
1. To issue medicines for three months in
chronic cases,
2. No substitute medicine to be issued if
April 2011
chemical formula is different,
3. Once a specialist recommends any tests, the
choice rests with the beneficiaries to select a
diagnostic centre.
4. For NIMS no referral permission from
dispensary is required. The beneficiary may
directly go to NIMS with CGHS card for
consultation.
8. On the representation of All India Services
Pensioners Association Hyderabad, the Director
CGHS directed the Additional Director CGHS
Begumpet to appoint one of the members of AISPA
as a member of advisory committee to each of the
dispensaries at Hyderabad. Accordingly, on the
suggestion of AISPA, the Additional Director
appointed the following members of IFS to the
advisory committees.
Sri T. Narayan Swamy – Himayath Nagar Dispensary V
Sri Krishna Bhoopal Ra - Humayun Nagar
Dispensary
Sri Ch. Iyaliah - Tarnaka Dispensary XIII
9. The Additional Director CGHS New Delhi by
a circular dated 21/10/2010 issued instructions that
all OP counters in respect of Dispensaries should
remain open from 07.30am to 11.00am for the
services of CGHS beneficiaries belonging to
department and the counters should remain open
from 11.00am to 01.30pm for the services of Senior
Citizens. However the Senior Citizens may also
attend the dispensaries from 07.30am to 11.00am ,
but the circular instructions are not being followed.
When enquired, it was replied that they are unable
to implement the orders due to shortage of
doctors.
45
VANA PREMI
10. The Government of India revised the 2007
package rates on 12/08/2009 and catagorised the
hospitals into (i). Super Speciality Hospitals (ii)
Hospitals that were accredited with NABH (National
Accredition Board for Hospitals) (iii) Hospital not
accredited with NABH and directed the hospitals
to sign MOU before 25/09/2010. As none of the
Hospitals entered MOU within the stipulated time,
the date was extended up to 29/10/2010. The
following few hospitals entered into MOU.
a)SVR Super Speciality Hospital – General incl. Jt.
Replacement Ameerpet, Hyderabad.
b) Apollo Hospital, - Super Speciality Hospital
Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.
c) Medwin Hospital - Super Speciality Hospital
Chirag ali lane, Hyderabad.
d) Medwin Eye Care Centre - Eye Care Hospital
Humayun Nagar, Hyderabad
e) FMS Dental Hospital - Dental Care Hospital
Koti, Hyderabad
Note: I met the Administrative Officer CGHS
Begumpet, Hyderabad on 12/03/2011 to know the
latest positon. He informed that the following
hospitals have also entered MOU which are in the
process of approval by the Director CGHS New Delhi
a) Care Hospital Nampally b) Care Hospital
Banajara c) Yashoda Hospital d) S u n s h i n e
Hospital
11. When only five hospitals entered MOU, the
Additional Director CGHS took up the matter with
Director New Delhi for sorting out the problems.
The Director issued orders stating that the
hospitals eligible for enrolment under CGHS
Hyderabad be allowed to treat the CGHS
beneficiaries with old package rates.
April 2011
12. Efforts to convince the recognised
hospitals did not yield any better results. The
hospitals including NIMS repeatedly pointed out
that their pending bills to the tune of Rs. 22 crores
are not cleared by CGHS.
13. The AISPA took up the matter with NIMS
and invited the Director of NIMS Dr. Mahapatra IAS,
and a meeting was held on 24/01/2011 with the
office bearers of the Association. The President Mr.
Gopala Krishna informed the Director that many a
member have complained that NIMS are not
entertaining CGHS beneficiaries. The Director
replied that heavy amount of Rs. 9 crores is pending
payment by CGHS. However he desired that the
Additional Director CGHS may send a list of
members with card numbers and on receipt of the
list they will be allowed free consultation.
14. On request from AISPA a meeting was held
at Vasavi Complex on 31/01/2011 with the
Additional Director CGHS and all the Chief Medical
Offices of all the Dispensaries. After explaining the
difficulties, the Additional Director informed that
the matter has been settled with some corporate
hospitals and they agreed to execute MOU and also
said that an amount of Rs. 5 crores has been paid
to NIMS and that all pending bills of corporate
hospitals have also been cleared upto end of June
2010. He requested the Association to send a list of
IAS, IPS and IFS pensioners with card numbers so
that the list could be sent to NIMS for free
consultation in the evening and the consultation
fee will be borne by C.G.H.S. I have sent the list of
members of I.F.S. through A.I.S.P.A. to the Adl.
Director C.G.H.S. In the list members who paid the
membership fee partly were also included. Such of
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the members who have paid life membership
partly may send the balance amount to the
Association.
15. The GOI in OM dated 17/08/2010 issued
orders on the entitlement of private, semi private
and general wards depending on their basic pay /
pension. The entitlement is as follows.
1. Basic pay without grade pay upto Rs. 13950 –
General ward
2. do do Rs. 13951 to
19530 – Semi pvt ward
3. do do Rs. 19531 &
Above- Pvt ward
These orders will apply to the beneficiaries who
are joining CGHS after issue of these orders. Those
who have taken life cards earlier to these orders
whatever wards they were entitled to as entered
in the cards will remain unchanged.
16. GOI vide circular dt. 01/04/2010 issued
orders for introduction of plastic CGHS cards in 7
CGHS units for pensioners and serving employees.
Different colour strips are used for serving
employees, pensioners, MPs, and freedom fighters.
The cards are under printing through an agency
from Delhi.
17. For consulting medical specialists hitherto
everyone had to go to Begumpet. But now
benefecieries staying in Hyderabad need not go
to Begumpet for consulting Dr. Rambabu. On every
Tuesday and Wednesday the medical specialist Dr.
Rambabu is available at Excise Bhavan ( Besides
Aayakar Bhavan, Basheerbagh, Hyderabad from
8.00am to 01.00pm). The Gynaecologist is also
available at Excise Bhavan on Thursday, Friday &
Saturdays. We may avail the facility.
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DRAFT WILL

1. This is last WILL of myself.. ....................., son/daughter/wife of ......................................................

........................................... aged..........................years, resident of ..................................................................
......................... .......................made on this day of ..............................20
2. I hereby revoke all· former WILLS and codicils mady by me
3. I am executing this last WILL and testament of mine voluntarily and without any compulsion
or pressure from any source or person and in sound health and sound state of mind.
4. I Appoint my wife and my eldest/son/daughter to be executors and trustees of ‘Will”
(Executors & Trustee will be different than beneficiary)
5. I own the following movable and immovable properties which are all my self-acquired
properties built or acquired out of my own earning and income without any assistance of any
ancestral estate and have absolute power of-disposal of the same and these are detailed below.
a) House No ..........................situated at ....................................built on a piot of
land measuring .............................................sq. yds.it in................................................
b) Life Insurance Policy(ies) : .............................................
c) Annuity of Lie.
d) Deposit in Public Provident Fund
e) Fixed Deposits, National Saving Certificates, Shares, PPF
i) Post Office National Savings Certificates.
g) Stocks, Shares etc. wherever my name stands first
6. I hereby bequeath all my movable and immovable properties as described above to my
wife, Smt............................(or to my son Shri .................................................or anyone else)
fully and absolutely (Person writing will have every right to dispose of property to anyone even
other than relatives.
7. I also declare that whatever nominations have been made by me shall all form part of
estate and shall be dealt with accordingly and given to my heirs as given above.
In witness proof where of i, the said .............................have put my signature to each sheet of
this my Will, contained in this sheet and in the preceding (one or two three sheets of paper) on the
day and the year first above written i.e the ..................................day of 20 Signed by the above named
testator in our presence at the same time and each of us has in the presence of the Testator signed
this name hereafter as the attesting witnesses.
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OBITUARY
Mohd. Hussain Khan
19.8.1927 – 25.2.2011
Sri Mohd Hussain Khan, an I.F.S Officer, borne on Andhra Pradesh Cadre, passed
away on February 25, 2011 at Hyderabad. He was ailing for some time and breathed
his last at 83.

Hussain Khan was the eldest son of Sri Mohd. Akbar Khan, a forest officer in the
erstwhile state of Hyderabad, and Smt. Haseemunnisa Begum. He had his school
education in Hyderabad and passed H.S.C. examination from Nampally High School.
Later he did his Intermediate Science from City College, Hyderabad

H.E.H. the Nizam’s Government selected him for appointment as Forest Ranger and deputed him for
training to Pakistan. But he was soon called back after the merger of the state with the Union of India and
was sent to Madras Forest College at Coimbatore. He had his training at the Coimbatore Forest College
during 1949-’51 and passed out of the College with Higher Standard Certificate.
Khan Saheb worked as Range Officer of several Ranges in Khammam, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar
districts and administered the Ranges very well. He was a hard task master for his staff; disciplined and
obedient with his superiors.

In his youth, he was doing exercises for body building. He has been a keen sportsman and foot-ball was
his favourite game. In fact, he was foot-ball captain for the forest college team.

Hussain Khan was promoted to the State Forest Service in 1965. He was not given his due along with his
batch mates and therefore, he had to struggle consistently. He worked as D.F.O. in special divisions like
logging, sawmill etc. Lately, he was promoted to the Indian Forest Service during the review of promotions
made. He eventually retired on superannuation on August 31, 1985.

Married to Smt Sakeena Begum, a Science graduate of Osmania University, in November1956, the couple
was blessed with three daughters and a son. All of them are married and well settled; first daughter is in
Jeddah, the second one is in Hyderabad and the youngest is in U.S.A. The son is a Mechanical Engineer
working in Saudi Arabia.

Khan Saheb was known for his hospitality and amiability. He was very popular among his colleagues. He
is survived by three daughters, one son and thirteen grandchildren to mourn his death. A large number
friends and relatives will fondly remember him. In his death we lost a good friend.
May the Almighty God rest his noble soul in peace! K.B.R. & Q.M.K

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Registered with RNI R.No. Apeng/2002.2185

Postal Regn. No.HSE-743/2009-11

BOOK POST

To

If Undelivered, Please return to : Editor : VANA PREMI

Office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Aranya Bhavan,
5th Floor, Room No. 514, Saifabad, Hyderabad - 500 004, A.P.
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