Post News Network
Jajpur Road, June 5: Trees are saviours and life is impossible without them. Observation of World Environment Day in Jajpur district seems to be confined to slogans like this. Scores of trees are being felled in the district for the expansion of national highway while not a single sapling has been planted in their place.
A case in point is the expansion work of NH-215 from Panikoili to Rajamunda. The project has been going on for the last four years and more than 7,000 trees have been felled down so far. However, the project authorities have not planted a single tree during this period.
Residents of Nuagada and Talagada had staged a road blockade in 2011 opposing the mindless felling down of trees. They demanded plantation of new trees in place of chopped down ones. Officials of district administration, National Highway Authority of India(NHAI) and personnel of consultancy firm Gayatri Construction came to the spot and promised to plant double amount of trees in place of the trees felled in the project.
They also assured the villagers to set up nurseries in Talagada, Pachhikote and Taharpur panchayats and saplings would be distributed among the villagers. Saplings would also be planted on the government lands in the surrounds on behalf of the NHAI, the officials promised.
Though it has been about four years since then, neither saplings have been planted nor distributed among the villagers, locals alleged. Trees would be planted after the expansion work is over and there is nothing to worry, the officials have been telling people in collector’s grievance cell from time to time.
Administration along with the consultancy firm has been misguiding people for years giving false promises, people said. They held a meeting at Gumpha Padia Thursday evening under the leadership of Babulal Guru, the convener of SC/ST community of the district. It was decided that people would resort to agitation unless NHAI start the plantation soon. Not only the trees have been felled, very old deep wells have also been plugged up by the authorities, Guru alleged.
Talagada sarpanch Anjan Kumar Nayak said, “All the commitments made by the authorities as well as the construction firm while felling the trees have proved false. Administration is only buying time to keep people calm.” When contacted, ADM Bharat Chandra Behera said plantation programme has been taken up in various schools and rural development department roads on behalf of the forest department.