Chandikhole: Long term leases of murram quarries at different places under Darpan tehsil of Jajpur are feared to cause large-scale destruction of jungles in these areas, a report said.
According to the report, the tehsil administration has floated tenders to give away murram quarries on long term basis at Manduka, Asia and Achyutabasant areas. Local residents and environmentalists apprehended that if quarries were given to leaseholders for long periods, the Asia hill rage in the area will see clearing of thousands of trees. Besides, many species of wild animals residing in the hill range will do a vanishing act, they observed.
There are 2,600 acres of forest land in the Asia hill range. Lands belonging to the revenue department are near the jungle land. The area was once under the scanner of the Crime Branch as murram mafia used to loot minor minerals at their will. Since then, no part of the hill range had been leased out for murram mining,
However, the tehsil administration has come out with a notification (vide letter3605, dated November 25, 2020) for leasing the land for murram extraction.
Here are details of the land to be leased out. Five acres of land linked to Khata no-737(plot-491) in Asia mouza are of pahad kisam (hill category). Besides, 9.75 acres of land liked to khata-471(plot no-1061) in Achyutabasat mouza is of Parbat kisam land (hill category). The tehsil also plans to lease out 12 acres (khata-1349, plot-3611) belonging to parbat kisam in Manduka mouza.
The forest department has already taken up massive plantation on these lands. “Murram can’t be extracted without clearing the trees. Thousands of trees will be chopped off for this purpose,” local environmentalists lamented.
In the notification, it was stated that 14807 cusec/metre of murram will be extracted annually in Asia area while the volume of murram extraction in Acgyutabasant area is 30227 cusec/metre. In Mandua mouza, the leaseholder will have to extract 33721 cusec/metre annually.
The revenue department will get Rs 35 as royalty per a cusec/metre of murram extraction while additional charges amount to Rs 45.
Locals say Asia-Charinagal reserve forest is home to wild animals like hyena, sambar, barking deer, spotted deer, boars and other reptiles. Due to illegal murram mining, their population has been fast declining in the area, it was alleged.
On one hand, the forest department has spent crores of rupees for regeneration of forests while on the other, the revenue department leases out the land for murram extraction.
Whenever these areas had been leased out earlier, leaseholders had allegedly resorted to excessive murram mining, thus causing loss of revenue as well as forests. Locals had reportedly protested against it in the past.
Though the Darpan tehsildar was contacted over phone by our reporter, he did not respond to the call.
PNN