BARIPADA: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has granted Odisha government two more months to respond to allegations of illegal construction and tree felling in the eco-sensitive zone of Similipal national park in Mayurbhanj district.
Hearing a petition filed by Yuvak Paryabaran Suraksha Trust on Thursday, the Eastern Zone bench of the NGT in Kolkata comprising Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi (judicial member) and A Senthil Vel (expert member) allowed additional time of two months after the counsel for the state government sought an extension to file a reply.
The tribunal also directed that fresh notices be issued to three respondents who failed to appear during the hearing. They too have been granted two months to submit their responses after receiving the notices. The next hearing has been scheduled for August 4.
In the petition, member of the trust Shantanu Bhukta had alleged that unregulated construction, tree felling and dumping of plastic waste are taking place within the eco-sensitive zone of the Similipal Tiger Reserve.
The petition further claimed that prohibited activities continue unchecked within a 10-km radius of the Similipal foothills, warning that continued violations could pose serious environmental threats to the protected landscape.
After hearing the petition in March, the tribunal had issued notices to the chief secretary of Odisha, additional chief secretary of Forest department, STR field director, Mayurbhanj collector, Baripada DFO, deputy director general of forests at the MoEFCC’s regional office in Bhubaneswar and the member secretary of National Board for Wildlife. It had directed all respondents to submit their responses within one month.