Dhenkanal: The special secretary state and forest and environment department has ordered the principal chief conservator of forests to conduct a probe into the charges of mindless felling of trees for expansion of National Highway-55 and submit a report to it.
The special secretary while ordering the PCCF for a probe has also asked the divisional forest officers of Dhenkanal, Angul, Cuttack and Sambalpur to take action if more trees have been cut off than the actual requirement for the highway expansion works. The matter came to fore after special secretary Devidutta Biswal of state and forest department issued a letter (25802/F&E-Bhubaneswar, dated-November 30, 2018) to the PCCF in this regard.
Sources said the National Highway-55 is undergoing expansion for conversion into a four-lane highway. The highway expansion works started in 2018 is scheduled to get completed by 2020, sources in the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) said. The state government has given permission to cut down trees for road expansion.
However, the consultancy agency is neglecting the actual order. The agency apart from felling trees on the lands acquired for the highway expansion works. However, it is also cutting down trees like banyan, peepal, mangoes, neem and Chakunda trees on lands other than the acquired lands adjoining the highway.
The former Dhenkanal municipality chairman Surendra Mishra drew the attention of MLA Saroj Kumar Samal and state environment minister towards such mindless tree felling for the highway expansion works. Samal informed the state forest and environment department about the mindless tree felling and urged it to intervene November 14, 2018.
When contacted, DFO Sudarshan Patra said the consultancy agency has been asked from the first not to cut down trees than the actual requirement for the highway expansion.
PNN