NGT Pulls Up & Fines Odisha Officer For ‘Casual Affidavit’ On Sikharchandi Hilll Project

Cuttack: The National Green Tribunal (NGT)’s East Zone Bench in Kolkata has slapped Rs 500 fine on secretary of Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) Rabindra Kumar Sahoo for filing an affidavit in a “casual and irresponsible manner” in connection with the elevated water storage tank project at Sikharchandi hill, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

“The affidavit does not state as to which Department or Office Sri Rabindra Kumar Sahoo is Secretary of. This shows the very casual and irresponsible manner in which this affidavit has been filed. We, therefore, impose a cost of Rs 500 on him,” the bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar and Dr Arun Kumar Verma (expert member) said while hearing a petition filed by Sachin Mohapatra, resident of the area.

Sahoo was directed to file a corrected affidavit within 24 hours.

The petitioner had pointed out the damage caused to the environment at Sikharchandi Hill, adjoining Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, due to earth moving, blasting of rocks, and felling of trees for construction of the elevated water tank project undertaken by Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO).

In his affidavit, Sahoo stated that the hill is outside of the eco-sensitive zone of the wildlife sanctuary and the state government had already sanctioned Rs 30 crore for redevelopment of the Shikharchandi Temple and its peripheral region.

Earlier this month, the green panel had extended the suspension order it had imposed on project on the Sikharchandi hill and asked the BDA’s counsel Dayananda Mohapatra to file counter affidavit and petitioner counsel Sankar Prasad Pani to file rejoinder affidavit by July 27.

As per the spot inquiry report, WATCO had claimed before the joint committee that there was an acute shortage of drinking water in the growing Bhubaneswar and there was no such elevated area in the city where such water tank can be constructed utilising the gravity for supply of water.

Thought the committee had opined hat construction of water tank will not have significant effect on the environment, it observed that WATCO had not taken permission for felling of trees. “Clearing of vegetation will make the soil vulnerable for erosion and this activity has resulted in removal of vegetation which was present in the site prior to clearing of the site. This needs to be compensated by plantation and soil conservation measures”

Notably, residents of 15 villages in five panchayats had also opposed the indiscriminate felling of trees in Sikharchandi, spread over 212.5 acres, for a water supply project for a northern suburb, claiming the forest and hillocks have religious significance for them. They pointed out that while the Odisha government had announced it would redevelop the entire Sikharchandi area as a tourist destination for its flora and fauna, another of its departments was busy striping off the green cover.