18 May 2022  |   07:09am IST

Deputy Conservator of Forest grants permission to cut 7218 trees for Mopa link road

Condition applied that 21,654 tree saplings should be replanted in the acquired land before the onset of the monsoon and submit the compliance report along with photographs to the office

Team Herald

MOPA: Deputy Conservator of Forest has granted permission to cut 7218 trees for construction of Mopa Link road.  

The Deputy Conservator of Forest in a letter to Executive Engineer, PWD dated March 16, 2022, states that Ex-post facto No Objection of Forest Department is hereby conveyed for felling of 7218 Nos. of trees (under village Dhargalim 3258 Nos. of trees, Warkhand village 2618 Nos. of trees and Casarvarnem village 1342 Nos. of trees) from different Survey Nos. of village Dhargalim, Warkhandem and Casarvarnem in Pernem Goa, for construction of link road from its junction with NH-66 (old NH-17) near Dhargalim to Mopa Airport New NH-166S.

While granting the permission, the department has laid terms and condition such as in case of any claim/ litigation about the ownership of the tree /land in question, applicant/user agency will be solely responsible.

A separate register showing details of cutting and removal (like tree No, number of logs made out of each tree etc.) needs to be maintained by the applicant/user agency. The same shall be produced to the officer inspecting the site.

Further to compensate the loss, User Agency/Applicant is hereby advised to plant tall saplings with good endurance with minimum 8 to10 feet height and 10cm diameter at 1 metre height from ground level.

Further the applicant/User Agency should replant 21,654 Nos. of trees saplings in lieu of felling of 7218 Nos. of tree in the acquired land before the onset of monsoon with technical guidance of the forest staff and submit the compliance report along with photographs to this office.

While one of the condition states that a register should be maintained by the company having details of cutting and removal (like tree No, number of logs made out of each tree etc.) on ground the trees are actually bulldozed and not cut down with any evidence of its existence.