CHANDIGARH, May 22 -- Amid an intensified push for flood-control works ahead of the monsoon, the Punjab forest department has objected to the alleged exclusion of divisional forest officers (DFOs) from key disaster management meetings involving the temporary use of forest land, warning that such decisions could bypass mandatory legal safeguards and trigger ecological damage. The issue has surfaced at a time when the Punjab government is set to hold a high-level meeting under the chairmanship of the chief secretary on Friday to discuss the use of forest land for flood mitigation and disaster management works in vulnerable riverine areas. According to official communications issued by the Punjab department of water resources, the matter was recently flagged during a flood preparedness review chaired by the chief minister. Officials pointed out that forest stretches located within riverbeds were obstructing certain flood-protection and drainage projects planned across the state. Following the review, all deputy commissioners were directed to attend the May 22 video conference meeting along with their respective conservators of forests and DFOs. However, in a parallel communication, the office of the Head of Forest Force (HoFF), Punjab, wrote to the state nodal officer for disaster management, raising concerns that DFOs were allegedly not being invited to some meetings of the District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), despite forest land diversion and emergency-use proposals being discussed. The forest department cited provisions under Clause 1.7(a) and 1.7(b) of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, which allow temporary use of forest land only in exceptional situations involving "imminent disasters" or natural calamities. Officials maintained that excluding forest officers from these deliberations could undermine legal scrutiny and environmental safeguards, particularly in ecologically sensitive riverbed zones. The communication stressed that temporary diversion of forest land should remain limited to unavoidable public-interest works and must ensure minimal damage to trees, wildlife habitats and forest ecosystems. The forest department pointed to ambiguity in the interpretation of existing guidelines governing emergency use of forest land and said clarification had been sought from the Integrated Regional Office of the Union environment ministry in Chandigarh through the state government. The development underscores the growing tension between Punjab's flood-management priorities and environmental concerns, as authorities prepare for the monsoon season, said a DFO, who wished not to be named....