Kathmandu, Dec 30: Chief Minister of Province No 2 Lal Babu Raut has pledged to take stringent actions against those involved in deforestation and timber smugglers and their accomplices.

In a meeting organized here today to review the performance and progress of the first four months of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment, CM Raut asked the concerned authorities to bring to book the forest smugglers and their smugglers.

Raut expressed concerns over the dwindling forest coverage in the Province and haphazard deforestation and admitted that there used to be cases of political protection for the culprit in the case of deforestation and the smuggling of forest riches. "But no forest smugglers would be spared anymore," he assured.

According to a record by the Division Forest Office, there were 24,000 hectares of forest in the Province. But owing to unchecked deforestation and lax implementation of laws against smugglers among others, the forest area in the Province now remains around 16,000 hectares of land.

More than 400 trees planted across 4 bighas in Ramtel Danda Community Forest were cut down recently, sparking outrage among the locals here. The trees planted in personal land were also allegedly chopped overnight by the forest smugglers.

The Division Forest Office here had also taken action against seven of its staffers for recording misinformation, according to Division Forest Office Chief Hemanta Prasad Shah. '

Human encroachment on forest land has also shrunk the forest land here. Around 5 hectare of forest land in the Kamidanda Community Forest was also encroached last year, according to the Division Forest Office.