BARIPADA: The Eastern Zone bench of the National Green Tribunal in Kolkata on Thursday issued notice to the Odisha government over the alleged illegal felling of hundreds of trees for a Rs 28-crore beautification project at Jubilee Park near Jhinjhari bundh in Mayurbhanj district.
Hearing a petition filed by activist Pratap Chandra Mohanty, the NGT bench comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi (judicial member) and A Senthil Vel (expert member) took serious note of the allegations and issued notices to the state government and other parties concerned, directing them to file their replies within one month. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 27.
In his petition filed on April 7, Mohanty alleged that Baripada municipality and National Federation of Farmers Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperatives of India Limited (NACOF) reportedly began cutting trees on forest-classified land in the area which is said to be a home to thousands of birds.
The petition alleged that trees were felled and land cleared using chainsaws and excavators for infrastructure development, landscaping, island creation, boating facilities, and children’s amenities at Jubilee Park without obtaining mandatory clearances from the Forest authorities. It further claimed that approval under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the Forest Conservation and Augmentation Act, 2023, and permission from the DFO had not been secured.
The petition further contended that work on non-forest land cannot begin without complying with directions issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the Supreme Court. It also alleged violations of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Earlier, Baripada DFO Govinda Chandra Biswal had stated that no permission had been granted for felling of trees in the area.