Kendrapara: Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the director of a voluntary outfit in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ Sunday for raising a mangrove forest on 25 acres in Kendrapara district to prevent coastal erosion, a report said.
The Prime Minister in his address cited the example of Bijay Kabi, the director of APWA (Action for Protection of Wild Animals) in raising a mangrove forest in Badkot of Rajnagar block which has helped prevent coastal erosion.
The PM called upon social workers to come forward and raise mangrove forests as these are able to prevent the coast from erosion.
However, the issue has kicked up a row in social media as 99 per cent of the saplings planted by Kabi’s outfit were non-existent.
Kabi’s outfit has mentioned in papers to have planted saplings with the funds of Rs 10.72 lakh provided to it.
The irregularities came to the fore from a reply by the local forest office available through Right to Information Act to Somanath Barik of Silapokhari village under Rajnagar block.
The area of plantation is spread over four villages.
However, the reply says that more than 99 per cent of saplings were found non-existing in these villages by September 17, 2016.
Only 50 per cent of planted saplings were found existing in Junusnagar village Kabi’s outfit had taken the contract to plant the mangrove saplings in Goja, Chitakhola, Debendranarayanpur and Charigharia villages under Rajnagar block under Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project programme (ICZMP) in 2015.
The report over the missing saplings was earlier published by vernacular daily ‘Dharitri’.
The Prime Minister’s praise for Kabi has surprised many when there is no sign of plantation by him. Kabi’s efforts to take the credit for the plantation by local youths has become a talk of the town.
He is alleged to have inflated the plantation on two acres to 25 acres. Social media users said the praise by the Prime Minister doesn’t sound good. DFO Bikash Ranjan Dash said a probe has been ordered into the irregularities.
When contacted, Kabi said his outfit has planted a total of 1, 05,225 saplings under ICZMP programme. However, the saplings have been destroyed due to lack of fencing around them.
PNN