Dehradun: Advocate Sandeep Mohan Chamoli in his written complaint to the Divisional Forest Officer  has levelled serious allegations against the Himalayan Environment Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), founded by renowned environmentalist Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi, accusing it of encroaching upon reserved forest land in Dehradun.

In this letter to the Divisional Forest Officer, Chamoli claimed that HESCO has been operating for years on forest land in the Arcadia Beat of Asharodi Range under the Dehradun Forest Division. He alleged that buildings and roads have been constructed within the reserved forest area without mandatory clearance.

Satellite Images Cited

Chamoli cited comparative satellite imagery from ISRO and Google Earth (2011, 2013, 2024, 2025), which he said clearly show the continuous expansion of the HESCO campus inside the forest zone. According to him, this constitutes a violation of Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, which requires prior approval from the central government for any non-forest use of such land.

Call for Probe

The advocate has demanded an immediate investigation into the matter and strict action against those found guilty.

Dr. Joshi, a Padma Bhushan awardee (2020) and Padma Shri recipient (2006), is widely respected for his environmental work. However, the allegations have stirred debate in conservation and administrative circles, with calls for transparency and accountability in the use of forest land.

Disclaimer: This news is written on the basis of information received from different authentic sources.