Jajpur: The Container Corporation of India Pvt Ltd (CCIP) is said to have been carrying out construction work on its multi-modal logistic park on a patch of forest land in Jakhapura mouza under Danagadi tehsil in Kalinganagar area of Jajpur.
The company has been accused of filling up two ponds as part of its proposed project without getting environmental clearance, but the administration is mum over it, a report said.
Local people used to depend on the two ponds for agriculture activities. During drought, farmers would use the water from the ponds to save their crops.
The CCIP had purchased 20,000 truckloads of ash from Maithan Steel and filled up the ponds. Filling them has become a cause of concern for the local farmers. Without taking environmental clearance, the company has been levelling the land by taking soil from the Tata Company, it was alleged.
Locals were surprised that how the administration has turned a blind eye to the illegal activities of the company. As the land belongs to the jungle category, the tehsil administration had denied the company permission for construction activities.
It was alleged that both the forest and the revenue departments have been cooperating with the company in the construction activities on the forest land.
Before carrying out any activities on the forest land, it is mandatory to seek conversion of the land and environment clearance.
Meanwhile, data available under RTI shows plot 865 and 876
(9 khata 419) comes under sala forest category of land. IDCO has sold off this two acre near Biju Patnaik Park to the company. This needs to be probed.
Dagadi tehsildar Bulbul Behera said that on what basis IDCO has provided it land will be investigated and action will be taken.
“The company has violated many laws. Apart from the fly ash, the project promoter extracted soil randomly from many areas without environmental clearance and it was used in the levelling and construction of the logistic park violating the Environment Protection Act of 1986,” a complaint to the district administration of Jajpur, forest department and the State Pollution Control Board said.
The activists said that since the land is categorised as forest, and all kinds of non-forest activities require approval of the Centre under Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act 1980, the entire exercise is illegal as they do not have permissions from the authorities concerned.
“It is clear that illegal acts like extraction of soil/minor minerals without environmental clearance, commencing construction without the consent of the State Pollution Control Board and the illegal use of fly ash for filling up of water bodies cannot be done without the active support of the tehsildar, forest ranger and the regional office of the State Pollution Control Board,” the complaint pointed out.
PNN
