Lok Shakti Abhiyan president Prafulla Samantara on Saturday appealed to the State Chief Secretary to order an inquiry and take action against the illegal tree cutting in a village forest in and around Dimiripali under Jagannathprasad block in Ganjam district.
He alleged that there were big old and valuable trees along with growing plants in the nearby forest and a portion of the village forest belongs to the Revenue Department. There, the landless villagers grow cashew plants; and for quit long time, it has become their source of livelihood.
On June 25 last, some timber mafias cut many trees in the land; and when the villagers protested and filed an FIR in the nearby police station, the felled trees could not be transported.
There is a sinister conspiracy by the mafias to grab the revenue land, for which the villagers are protesting, Samantara stated.