NGT questions authorities over Jubilee Park tree cutting

The National Green Tribunal's east zone bench has issued notices to several authorities regarding allegations of illegal tree felling and land clearing for a proposed Rs 28-crore urban development project at Jubilee Park in Baripada municipality, Mayurbhanj district. The order, issued on April 30 and uploaded on May 6, follows a petition filed by an RTI activist seeking immediate intervention. The activist urged the tribunal to declare the tree felling illegal under the Van Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan Adhiniyam 2023 and to direct authorities to restore the site. The tribunal observed that the petition raises substantial questions relating to the environment arising from the implementation of specified enactments. Consequently, notices were directed to be issued to additional chief secretaries of the forest and housing departments, the Mayurbhanj collector, the divisional forest officer of Baripada, the Odisha Biodiversity Board, Baripada municipality, the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, and NACOF. The respondents are expected to file their responses within one month, with the next hearing scheduled for July 27. The petitioner claimed that over 100 trees were cut using chainsaws from April 4 onwards for the development of Jubilee Park and Jhinjiri Pond, with stumps later cleared by heavy machinery. The project, spanning nearly nine acres, covers land classified as forest, water body, and wasteland. The petitioner alleged that no prior approval was obtained from the divisional forest officer before tree felling, citing a 2011 MoEFCC order requiring central clearance for projects involving both forest and non-forest land. Concerns were also raised about the site, locally known as "Pakhi Vihar," being a habitat for thousands of birds and violating provisions of the Biological Diversity Act 2002.