Bhubaneswar: Some influential persons and builders have encroached upon three acres of forest land near a village at Gopinathpur mouza near Dhauli area here.
The Forest department officials have done nothing to evict the encroachers despite repeated complaints by the villagers, sources said.
According to sources, the builders had started acquiring the forest land illegally at least seven years ago. Some builders have laid roads on the forest land while a few others have sold the plots to third parties, sources added.
The locals led by Rasmiprava Samantaray had launched an agitation in 2013 to protest the illegal acquisition of forest land at Gopinathpur. However, the authorities concerned had turned a blind eye to the encroachment issue.
“The builders have occupied the forest land by bribing some officials of the Forest department and local tehsil office. The authorities concerned are yet to act against the encroachers,” alleged a villager.
The villagers, meanwhile, threatened to intensify their agitation if the Forest department does not take immediate steps to remove encroachments on the village forests.
When contacted city divisional forest officer Ashok Mishra said they have no authority over the forest land at Gopinathpur. “The forest area near the village falls under the jurisdiction of Revenue department. We can preserve the forests if they are handed over to us by the Revenue department,” Mishra added.