Cuttack: Felling of thousands of trees for expansion of National Highway-215 in Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts without any compensatory aforestation has raised the hackles of environmentalists and social activists.
As per data available on the website of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), a staggering 46, 073 trees with above 30-cm diameter in these districts were cut for the NH expansion.
The data reveals that as many as 17, 868 trees have been cut down under Keonjhar forest division, 27, 632 in Bonai forest division (Sundargarh) and 573 in Rourkela forest division (Sundargarh).
Of these, the MoEF data says, 1,875 trees were cut for the NH project without receiving the approval from the competent authorities.
Moreover, the authorities concerned have acquired 450 acre forest land for the project, sources said.
Environmentalists have alleged that the authorities concerned are yet to undertake any compensatory plantation in the twin districts even though the existing norms clearly dictate for planting of 10 saplings against each tree.
“Felling trees in the name of development would bring catastrophe to the mankind. The Centre and the state government could have opted for transplantation trees for the NH project,” said advocate Shankar Prasad Pani.
According to Pani, the MoEF data does not reveal anything regarding the number of trees bellow 30-cm diameter felled for the NH expansion.
“A tree normally takes at least 30 years to reach a diameter of 30 cm. The authorities concerned should take the issue seriously and opt for massive transplantation while implementing any project. If required, we would raise the issue with the National Green Tribunal,” Pani said.
Sources, meanwhile, claimed that the trees felled for the NH project in Keonjhar were coming under an elephant corridor. “The area, from where the trees have been felled, comes under an elephant corridor as per the Odisha Remote Sensing Application Centre data,” said a source.
It is learnt that at least 6 lakh trees have been felled for expansion of various roads in state in last 10 years. However, the government agencies do not have clear information about the number of saplings planted under the compensatory plantation initiative.
Keonjhar divisional forest officer, while replying to an RTI plea by activist Sashibhusan Patnaik, had clarified last year that the authorities are yet to plant saplings under the compensatory plantation drive for the NH-215 project.