Compensation for cut: Tree plantation in Bastar for losing 100s of trees for chariot

Time of India

8 hours ago

Raipur: In a bid to balance tradition with sustainability, authorities in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region have begun planting saplings annually to compensate for the "hundreds of trees felled" each year to build the towering wooden chariot for the 75-day Bastar Dussehra, one of India's longest and most traditionally significant festivals.
State wildlife board members and forest department on the local level have initiated the plantation, taking a cue from Jagannath Puri in Odisha, where thousands of saplings are planted annually to compensate for the timber used in 'Rath Yatra'.
Speaking to TOI, Hemant Kashyap, a member of the state wildlife board and an environmentalist said, "For about three chariots, nearly 200 trees are felled in Odisha and the rath committee plants four times the number of saplings, and the wood is sourced only after an 80-year cycle of a tree planted.
In Bastar, a single chariot is built - the four-wheeled 'Phool Rath' initially which later turns into eight-wheeled called 'Vijay Rath' — requiring felling of nearly 150 mature sal trees, many over a hundred years old.
The Forest Department supplies this wood to the Bastar Dussehra Committee."
"We have been demanding compensatory plantations for years. It shouldn't just continue in the name of tradition by planting few samplings.
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Sal trees take a several years to mature, he added.
Jagdalpur chief conservator of forest R C Dugga told TOI that the number of trees to be felled depends on the size of logs required and usually they are less in numbers as claimed. By and large 80 huge logs are required for the chariot in Bastar Dussehra, he said.
"Since the concern of annual felling of sal trees was considerable, our forest department team with local villagers and Dussehra committee jointly decided to plant saplings every year.
There's a village called Nakti Semra near Jagdalpur, where the panchayat has provided an empty land and with own arrangements, we availed 250-300 saplings for plantation along with basic resources," CCF said.
He added that the Bastar Dussehra committee representatives including 'manjhi, chalki' rank people who come from different villages, participate in plantation drive. We provide fencing and protection, he said, adding that to ensure proper care and maintenance, a formal initiative can be taken ahead.
However, Kashyap urged for sal-specific replantation, stating that a mix of tree species is being planted instead. Moreover, while the best time for plantation is the monsoon, saplings are usually planted post-festival by tribal priests and traditional functionaries, often at the same spots where trees were felled, such as Markel, about 20 kms from Jagdalpur and Semra villages.
Environmentalists emphasized that the chariot is crafted entirely through traditional methods — cut, carved, and shaped by hand without any machinery. This results in significant wood waste, which is later sold off or auctioned.
Officials said that adequate funds can be allocated for structured ecological compensation for plantation.