CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Thursday adjourned hearing on the PIL against felling of trees for the `549.41 crore MLA colony project till February 22 after the state government failed to complete calculation of cost of the 870 trees cut at the construction site.
The government was expected to constitute an expert committee to calculate the cost of the trees cut and file a report. A direction for it was issued by the court on September 7.But when the matter came up on Thursday, deputy director of Estates Itishree Rout filed an affidavit stating that a 10-member expert committee has already been constituted for the calculation but two more months are needed to complete the process.
Allowing the plea, the division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice MS Raman fixed February 22 as the next date for hearing on the matter along with the expert committee’s report.
The HC was hearing the petition filed by Jayanti Das (60), a Cuttack-based social activist opposing the `549.41 crore MLA colony project in the capital by felling such large number of trees.
In a counter affidavit the state government had earlier stated that the City DFO, Bhubaneswar accorded permission for conversion and disposal of 870 trees for the project subject to the condition that project proponent will plant 8,700 trees in the available place or deposit `68.70 lakh for it as per the plantation norm 2021.