Odapada: Revenue divisional commissioner (north) DV Swamy Tuesday conducted a probe into the controversy surrounding a beer bottling plant at Balarampur village here, that was cancelled by the Chief Minister following massive protest by locals.
Swamy questioned the officers and the staff at the Odapada tehsil office and examined files regarding the beer unit.
Later, he visited the community forest where the unit was proposed to be established and had a look at the trees that were felled in the area for the project.
Swamy interacted with the villagers at Balarampur at the village community hall. The villagers expressed their joy over the cancellation of the unit and thanked the Chief Minister for his noble initiative.
They however expressed resentment on the manner in which the then collector and tehsildar had changed the status of the pastureland into waste land and demanded action against them.
The villagers submitted their written complaints to the RDC with necessary documents.
When contacted, Swamy said he has come to conduct a probe as per the direction of the Chief Minister.
He said the villagers have nurtured the forest for years and their love for the forests is heartening. Swamy further said he will inform the state government about this and take steps for more plantations as per the people’s demand.
The RDC said he will submit his report to the state government.
A BJP delegation led by state vice-president Samir Mohanty visited the site in the afternoon and took stock of the situation. The team comprising MLA Nitish Gangadev, Gobind Chandra Das, former MLA Krushna Chandra Patra, Rama Chandra Patra, Ramesh Samal, Niroj Nalini Mahalik, Itishree Sahu and Anita Das visited the spot and flayed the state government for its ‘double standards’ on the issue. They demanded action against the culprits and met the villagers at the village community hall.
PNN
