The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the Secretary, Panchayati Raj and the District Magistrate, Dehradun to ensure that no illegal felling of trees is undertaken and the trees which are not required to be cut for the purpose of setting up the Haat Bazaar, are not cut merely because the permission may be obtained.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Alok Kumar Verma issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking constitution of an independent Administrative Committee to inquire into the illegal felling of trees, and financial embezzlement and misuse of public money in the garb of constructing Haat Bazaar in Village Panchayat Rudrapur, Block Vikasnagar, and to enlist the persons who are involved in the illegally earned money.
According to the petitioner, for construction of Haat Bazaar, only 16 trees were required to be cut. However, in the garb of the aforesaid project, permission to cut 121 trees was obtained.
The petitioner has placed on record the communication dated 21.09.2022, issued by the Tehsildar, Vikasnagar, wherein he, inter alia, states that upon inspection of the spot, “prima facie, the number of trees proposed in the said file appears to be more than the trees being cut on the land proposed for Haat Market, which needs to be thoroughly investigated”.
The petitioner has also placed on record the report submitted by the Revenue Sub-Inspector to the Tehsildar which, inter alia, states as follows:- “A total of 16 trees of Eucalyptus are standing in this land, the process of cutting of total 121 trees of Eucalyptus is going on in documents file, in which 16 trees are in the proposed land for Haat Bazaar and other 105 trees are in other Khasra numbers of Village Society land. The evaluation of which has also been done by the office of Divisional Forest Division Kalsi, and its auction was also to be held on 09.09.2022”.
The High Court, while observing that the issue raised by the petitioner is rather serious, directed the Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Government of Uttarakhand to personally examine the issue raised by the petitioner and file his own affidavit within four weeks.
Further the Court directed the Divisional Forest Officer, forest division Kalsi to file his affidavit disclosing as to on what basis permission to cut 121 trees has been granted, when, prima facie, it appears that only 16 trees are required to be cut for the purpose of setting up the Haat Bazaar.
Matter is listed on 31.08.2023 for further hearing.