Uttarakhand Forest Department to Use GIS to Check Illegal Encroachments
The Uttarakhand forest department has asked officials to use the Geographic Information System (GIS) technique to measure illegal encroachments. The announcement was made by Jai Raj, the head of forest force (HOFF), Uttarakhand forest department.
The announcement stated that “encroachment on government land has been increasing continuously in the state, including forest land. It is important to vacate or remove encroachments from forest land with regular checking, until then, it is important to ensure that more land is not encroached upon. Instead of routine checks, encroachment must be checked effectively, for which Geographic Information System (GIS) technique should compulsorily be used”.
The forest department has further asked all divisional forest officers to check satellite imagery of forest areas of the past years to check for changes in encroachment. The divisional forest officers have also been asked to employ stricter measures to check encroachment and not just erect boundary pillars.
