The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has stepped in to address a major environmental controversy in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district. The tribunal's east zone bench in Kolkata has issued formal notices to the state government and several authorities following a petition that alleges large-scale, illegal cutting of trees on government land. This land was earmarked for a proposed inter-state bus terminal (ISBT) at Palabani, near Baripada.
Petition Alleges Widespread Destruction of Urban Forest
The case was brought to the NGT by Pramod Kumar Hembram, a resident of Baripada. He challenged the felling of trees across approximately five acres of a designated 10-acre urban forest and green zone. According to the petition, the Palabani site was officially declared an urban forest and a green jogging zone on October 2, 2016.
This green lung for Baripada was developed by the Baripada forest division. The 10-acre area is reported to have been home to around 12,000 trees, including valuable species like sal, mahogany, acacia, and neem. Plantation efforts began in 2013, adding to existing mature trees, and the area was opened to the public for jogging in 2016 once the trees had grown to nearly 15 feet in height.
NGT Bench Acts, Hearing Scheduled
Acting on the plea, the NGT bench comprising Judicial Member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Ishwar Singh issued the notices on December 23. The bench has sought replies from the respondents and has fixed January 6 for the next hearing, as confirmed by the petitioner's counsel, Sankar Prasad Pani.
The notices have been served to a host of officials and bodies, including:
- The Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest and Environment Department
- The Mayurbhanj Collector
- The Member Secretary of the Odisha Biodiversity Board
- The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Baripada
- The Managing Director of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC)
Discrepancy in Numbers and Alleged Violations
The petition highlights a severe discrepancy in the number of trees cut. While an official report by the DFO permitted the felling of 1,789 trees, the petitioner alleges that more than 5,000 trees were actually cut down. To facilitate this clearance, the petitioner claims the land was wrongly classified as 'patita kissam' (barren or fallow land), despite its dense forest cover.
Furthermore, the plea argues that the authorities failed to explore alternative barren land in or around Baripada for the ISBT project. Since the project is not site-specific and is still in the proposal stage, relocating it could prevent the further destruction of thousands of trees.
The felled trees included precious and fruit-bearing species such as:
- Karanja
- Neem
- Sishu
- Bahugani
- Baula
- Lemon
- Mango
- Sirisa
The petition states that this action violated the conditions of the tree-felling permission, which required the existing forest growth to be kept intact. The DFO has been accused of acting as a "mute spectator" to these alleged violations.
