Post News Network
Keonjhar, April 11: Laying of new roads and other construction activities have taken a heavy toll on the forests in Jhumpura area. About 15,000 valuable trees have allegedly been felled to make space for a 12-km road from Hatidari to Kankana village, even without the required permission from the revenue or forest department. Surprisingly, the authorities concerned have not taken any legal action in this regard, leaving the environmentalists and locals bewildered.
As the matter came to the fore through media, officials of both the departments became
active. The forest department wrote a letter to the Jhumpura tehsildar April 6, pointing out the illegalities in the road work. It also pointed out illegal excavation of murram from the land. As the land falls under revenue forest category, the revenue department has been asked to conduct a probe into the
illegalities. A copy of this letter is also available with Keonjhar DFO.
Under the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 (PESA), any project entailing earth excavation or tree felling in the scheduled areas needs prior approval of palli sabhas and gram sabhas. This has not happened in this case. Locals have threatened agitation if no action is taken against the culprits in this
regard.
When contacted, DFO Rohit Kumar Lenka said that the revenue forest has been destroyed. The tehsildar has been intimated about having a joint probe into such illegal acts. Stern action will be taken against the guilty, if murram excavation and tree felling have happened without the permission, Lenka added.