The Uttarakhand government has launched the Pirul Lao-Paise Pao campaign to contain the raging forest fire in the state. The Supreme Court recently expressed concern about the raging forest fire in the state, which has already killed five people. The forest fires have already destroyed trees, medicinal plants and wildlife in the area, besides creating air pollution due to thick smoke and soot.

CM Dhami launches Pirul Lao-Paise Pao Campaign

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched the Pirul Lao-Paisa Pao in the Rudraprayag district on 8 May 2024. He urged the people to actively participate in the campaign to prevent forest fires. He said that the cooperatives, Yuva Mangal Dal and Van Panchayat, would also participate in the campaign to make it a people's campaign.

Pirul Lao-Paise Pao Campaign

Under the Pirul Lao-Paise Pao campaign, the local youth and villagers will collect dry Pirul (Pine tree leaves) in the forest and take them to the designated Pirul collection centre. The Tehsildar in their respective areas will manage the pirul collection centre under the supervision of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.

The Pirul will be weighed and stored at the collection centre, and the villagers or youth will be paid Rs 50 per kg, which will be directly transferred to the bank accounts.

The collected Pirul will be packed and processed, and sold to the industries for further use.

Use of Pirul?

In Uttrakhand, Pirul refers to the Pine tree leaves. The Pirul has been traditionally used in Uttrakhand to make beds for domestic animals, as a fertiliser when mixed with cow dung, and to package fruits.

Due to its excellent burning capacity, the Uttarakhand government has established a 25-kilowatt power plant in the Chakori Dhanari village in the Dunda Block of Uttarkashi district. The plant uses Pirul as a raw material to produce electricity.

According to the Uttarakhand government, an estimated 23 lakh metric tonnes of Pirul are produced annually in the state, which can generate about 200 megawatts of electricity.

Who will operate the Campaign?

The Uttarakhand government has designated the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board to oversee the Pirul Lao-Paise Pao Campaign. It will operate the Pirul collections centre, store it and process it. The Uttarakhand government has allocated Rs 50 crore for the Pirul Lao-Paise Pao campaign. The collectors of the Pirul will be paid out of this fund.

Why Focus on Pirul?

Pine leaves, which grow to 20-25 centimetres, are highly inflammable when dry. They are considered a curse of the mountains. The pine corn, called Chaita in the local language, is a major cause of spreading fire in the forest.

When the tree burns, the corn rolls down the slope, and the seed in the corn spreads the fire in a large area. Pirul is acidic in nature, falls in large quantities, and decomposes very slowly. Thus, due to its large quantity and slow decomposition rate, it is a major fire threat in the Pine forest.

The best way to stop the spread of fire is to collect the leaves for the forest area.

Forest and Pirul area in Uttarakhand

According to the Indian State of the Forest Report 2021, the total recorded forest area in Uttarakhand was 24,305 square kilometres, which covers 45.44% of the state's geographical area.

Of the forest areas in Uttarakhand :

Very dense forests are spread over 5,055 square kilometres
Moderately dense forest -12,768 square kilometres and
Open forest - 6,482 square kilometres.

Pine trees were introduced in the region by the Britishers. The woods of the tree were used to make sleepers for the railway tracks. Now, pine trees are abundant in Uttarakhand.

Pines Trees are abundant in the Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Dehradun, Garwhwal, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Uttarkashi districts of Uttarakhand.