Post News Network
Bantala, Feb 7: Forest officials have allegedly violated Supreme Court
guidelines while clearing a forest to set up a mega nursery proposed at Kulasingha under Purunagad forest range in Angul division.
The forest officials, without making any specific plan for the mega nursery, have indiscriminately chopped down thousands of medicinal and timber trees in the region without adhering to norms.
They have used earthmovers to uproot the trees. They have also cleared the tress in the adjoining jungle to make space for the project which will come up on five hectares of land. According to norms before cutting trees, the forest ranger has to first float a proposal before the divisional forest officer (DFO)
explaining the purpose. After the DFO’s permission, the ranger has to identify the trees on the basis of land size and its category and has to inform the forest
conservator.
The ranger on receiving permission of the conservator will have to cut the trees through the forest department or with the help of Orissa Forest Development Corporation. Later, logs have to be prepared from the chopped trees which the OFDC will procure on the basis of the TT permit obtained from a senior forest officer. However, the forest officials never followed a single norm while cutting the trees.
They not only violated rules, but also filled up a natural source of water like Bhandaruni nullah adjacent to the Central nursery whose existence is said to be over 200 years. This has stopped flowing of water in the nullah.
Apart from the Central nursery,
several jungles entrusted to Purunagad Sudasahi forest protection committee, Sasan Bazaar forest protection committee and Kulasingha forest protection committee, also lie close to the nullah.
The nullah was serving as a source of drinking water for various wild
animals and birds. Besides farmers of nearby village and cattle used to depend on it to meet their daily water requirement. Moreover, water from this nullah used to irrigate the farmlands in adjoining Chandanpur, Saruali, Badadandasahi, Gurang villages.
When contacted, regional chief
conservator of forests (RCCF) Anup Nayak, who earlier termed the move illegal, tried to play down the incident stating that only the saplings have been chopped down. Residents have expressed surprise as to how the trees, which have grown up to one to 10 ft in height, could be termed as saplings.