Kamal Ghorui
CUTTACK: Alleged large-scale felling of trees for a proposed Rs 28-crore urban development project in Odisha’s Baripada municipality area has landed before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), with a Kendrapada based petitioner seeking immediate intervention.Seeking relief, Pratap Chandra Mohanty has urged the tribunal to declare the tree felling illegal under the Van Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan Adhiniyam 2023 and to direct authorities to restore the site to its original condition.Mohanty, in a petition filed before the East Zone Bench through Advocate Sankar Prasad Pani on April 7, claimed that more than 100 trees were cut using chainsaws from April 4 onwards for the development of Jubilee Park and Jhinjiri Pond under Baripada Municipality. The stumps, he alleged, were later cleared using heavy machinery, including JCBs.The project, spread over nearly nine acres, covers land classified as forest (Jungle), water body (Jalasaya) and wasteland (Patita). While the municipality issued the work order, execution has been taken up by the National Federation of Farmers’ Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperatives of India Ltd (NACOF).Raising procedural lapses, the petitioner alleged that no prior approval was obtained from the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Baripada, before initiating tree felling. He cited a 2011 order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), which mandates that projects involving both forest and non-forest land require central clearance before any activity begins.The plea also flagged ecological concerns, stating that the site — locally known as “Pakhi Vihar” — has long served as a habitat for thousands of birds. Environmentalists have claimed that the area functioned as a year-round refuge for avian species, making the alleged felling particularly damaging. The petition further alleged violation of provisions under the Biological Diversity Act 2002. The NGT is yet to take up the matter for hearing.Senior officials, including additional chief secretaries of the forest and housing departments, Mayurbhanj collector, DFO Baripada, Odisha Biodiversity Board, Baripada Municipality, MoEFCC and NACOF, have been named as parties in the case.
