Cutting Of Saplings For PM’s Helipad To Be Probed: DFO

Balangir: The state Forest Department will probe the alleged felling of thousands of saplings in an area behind the railway station in Balangir for temporary construction of a helipad for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Odisha visit on January 15.

This was informed by Balangir Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Samir Satpathy here on Sunday.

Talking to mediapersons, Satpathy said no prior permission has been taken from the Forest Department for cutting these saplings and he will write to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in this regard. “I hope the PMO will give a satisfactory reply to my letter. If the reply is not satisfactory, the Forest department will take necessary action,” he added.

A senior official of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) said since the saplings were planted in the railway area, the railway authorities will take necessary steps.

Notably, the Forest department, during 2015-16 and 2016-17, had planted about 30,000 saplings like Neem, Gambhari, Sishu and Karanj in Balangir town under the Urban Afforestation Scheme of which about 3500 saplings behind the railway station for which the over Rs 10 lakh was spent. To ensure proper growth of these saplings, the department had engaged additional staff. Some of the saplings had grown to a height of 6-8 feet.