Tough wildlife warden in Punjab shifted

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Tough wildlife warden shifted

Shahtoosh lobby’s will prevails

Sarbjit Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 1

The Chief Wildlife Warden, Mr Swarn Singh, who had refused to bow to the

dictates of certain influential possessors of shahtoosh shawls in the state, has

been transferred to an insignificant post in the Punjab Forest Department. He

was transferred a day before the enforcement of the code of conduct on December

29 with regard to the Punjab Assembly elections. Mr Swarn Singh, who was

posted as the Chief Wildlife Warden only a few months ago, has assumed charge of

his new post. Sources said that Mr Swarn Singh had been removed from the post

of Chief Wildlife Warden at the behest of certain possessors of shahtoosh shawls

because they were feeling uncomfortable owing to the tough stand taken by him

with regard to the issuance of the certificate of ownership to them. As many as

150 keepers of such shawls had applied for the certificate of ownership.The

possession of such shawls without the certificate is illegal. The ownership

certificate makes just one legal possessor or

custodian of the shawl but does not give one the right to sell it. The shawl

remains government property and if one goes to another state with the shawl(s),

one has to inform the wildlife authorities regarding its possession. Among the

possessors of such shawls are families of influential politicians, bureaucrats,

police officers, industrialists and “feudal lords”. In fact, as the price of one

such shawl ranges from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, middle class families cannot

afford to buy it. Shahtoosh shawls are made from wool derived from the

undercoat of the chiru, a Tibetan antelope that has been declared an endangered

species in various parts of the world. The animal has to be killed to obtain the

wool. The Union Government had issued a notification giving an opportunity to

the possessors of wildlife articles such as trophies, shahtoosh shawls and ivory

jewellery to declare these within a specified period to avail themselves of the

certificate of ownership from the

Chief Wildlife Wardens in the respective states. About 600 persons in Punjab

had declared that they had shahtoosh shawls and 450 of them were issued the

certificate of ownership by the authorities without completing the procedural

formalities. However, Mr Swarn Singh as the Chief Wildlife Warden had

instructed his DFOs to make a detailed inquiry from the remaining possessors of

such shawls regarding the source of the shawls, the weight, colour,etc. The

sources said that following such queries, some of the possessors started saying

that their shawls were not of shahtoosh. Mr Swarn Singh directed his officials

to ask such possessors to deposit their shawls for scientific testing. As Mr

Swarn Singh refused to oblige anyone and remained firm on following the

provisions of the Wildlife Act, he was removed from the post held by him. In the

past few months, Mr Swarn Singh had also made life miserable for poachers and

got cases registered against many of them. Asked to

comment on his transfer, Mr Swarn Singh said:“I have been doing my duty

honestly all my life and upholding the law. Some people like it and some don’t.

But I remain happy in all situations.”

 

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070102/main9.htm

 

 

Dr.Sandeep K.Jain

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