Joda: A private mining firm carrying out road expansion work on a forest land without permission from the administration in Joda mining circle of Keonjhar has raised the suspicion of locals.
According to reports, both sides of the road from West Joda View to Helipad have been dug for its widening. Locals alleged the mining company has not obtained permission from the Forest Department, even as many mining firms have been using forest land for non-forest use without de-reserving the land.
However, Abhisek Majumdar, an official of the company, denied that the road is being widened.
“The earth was dug out along the road to replace the old wall crash barrier with a new one. The dug out place was later filled in. It was meant to check accidents,” he added.
The official, however, was mum on the issue of obtaining permission from the Forest Department.
When asked, Divisional Forest Officer Santosh Kumar Joshi sought to know which company was carrying out road expansion and how to identify whether a land is owned by the forest department.
“Who told you that the place belongs to the forest department,” the DFO asked. However, he was silent on the issue of launching an investigation.
Joda forester Peon Nayak said he had visited the spot on receipt of a complaint in this regard, but he suggested that the land may belong to the District Level Committee forest.
“Only after taking note of the map of the area, the land can be ascertained whether it belongs to the forests or not,” the forester noted.
PNN