DEHRADUN: The demolition of illegal ‘mazars’, temples, gurudwaras and other religious places on forest land has intensified.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had recently taken serious note of the fast-growing culture of land encroachment patterns under the guise of Mazar-Jehad, following which the forest department has started the work of removing all such illegal structures built in the reserved forest area.
Dhami had recently appointed chief conservator of forests Parag Madhukar Dhakate as the nodal officer while intensifying action against alleged ‘mazar jehad’ and ‘land jehad’ on forest land. Dhakate had given a week’s time to DFOs to identify and remove illegal ‘mazars’ in their areas.
Four such illegal mazars have been demolished in the Ramnagar forest division adjoining Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Speaking to this newspaper, Chief Conservator of Forests Dr Parag Madhukar Dhakate said, “Information is still being collected about the number of illegal religious sites in the forest areas of the state.”
