Hundreds of eucalyptus and other trees covering ten acres of land have been cut by timber and land mafias recently in the villages of Siha, Kharamangi and Kolhasingh under the Dalijodi Forest Range in Jajpur district.
Way back 20 years ago, the Forest Department created this village forest (Gramya Jungle) by planting around 30,000 eucalyptus and other trees under the MGNREGA scheme.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had in 2019 inaugurated a rural campus of the Utkal University at Siha village over 66.30 acres of land. The value of the land has skyrocketed after the establishment of the university campus. As a result, land mafias are denuding the village forest.
In a clear nexus between forest officials and mafias, trees are felled and smuggled openly. Instead of keeping a check on such activities, officials have turned a blind eye with an ulterior motive.
A massive awareness campaign on the importance of the village forest among the villagers can prevent tree felling, said Ashok Jena, a social worker of Siha.
When contacted, Dalijodi Forest Range Officer Abhiram Jena said, “I have directed on Saturday Forester of the area to submit a report about denudation of forest in these areas. We will take legal action againstpersons who chopped trees.”