Nayagarh/Ranpur: Mineral mafia has been playing havoc with cashew forests under the Odisha Cashew Development Corporation in Ranpur area of Nayagarh district.
They have cleared thousands of cashew trees and looted minor minerals like laterite stone and murram worth crores of rupees, reports said.
The reports said mineral mafia has chopped off 5000 cashew trees in Mayurjhalia mouza within a year while cashew forests have been dotted with massive pits due to extraction of minor minerals.
Even pasture land has not been spared in the area.
Illegal extraction of laterite and murram is still going on while the state government has to incur huge revenue losses, locals alleged, stating that despite repeated complaints, the administration is not taking action against mineral smugglers.
Upset over the damage to valuable cashew forests, people of Janjkia have reported the matter to the cashew corporation and the Chief Minister.
According to reports, the cashew forests spread over 144 acres near Mayurjhalia. These forests were developed by the Odisha Cashew Developemnt Corporation with the help of locals about 50 years ago.
Over 30,000 cashew plants had been raised in the forest. Earlier, local people used to take the forest on lease and earn lakhs of rupees.
However, over the last one year, the cashew forests have not been leased out. Taking advantage of this situation, mineral mafia has been active in the forests.
They have been digging out tonnes of murram and laterite every day. A number of Hyva trucks have been transporting minerals to Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Puri and Nayagarh on NH-16.
Basant Parida, a resident of Jankia, said, “We have apprised the Ranpur tehsildar, Chandpur police and the sub-collector of the ongoing illegal mineral mining. This is happening because the forests have not been leased out. 5000 trees have been felled.”
Manoranjan Senapati, another local, said the cashew forests are now pockmarked with huge pits as deep as 20 to 30 feet all over the area.
Similarly, pasture land is also being targetted by mafia while the administration has no control over such illegal activities, it was alleged.
When contacted, tehsildar Sanjay Kumar Samantray said he has not received any complaint. “If I get such complaint, raids will be conducted,” he added.
PNN