K’pada resettlement colony works dubbed illegal Forest dept tells admn to abide by law Uncertainty now looms large over resettlement of sea erosion prone 575 families of coastal Satabhaya here.
As per the plan of the State Government, it is setting up Biju Nagar Resettlement Colony in Bagapatia for the villagers who are facing constant onslaught of sea.
However, the project which has been moving at a snail’s pace, has again suffered a setback with the Bhitarkainka National Park authority objecting to the construction works.
According to Rajnagar Mangrove Forest and Wildlife Division DFO Kedar Kumar Swain, the Bagapatia forest comes under the Bhitarkanika Sanctuary area. The district administration has not taken proper permission from the wildlife authority for construction of the resettlement colony, he said.
Swain said in order to carry out any development or construction in the sanctuary area, the user agency gives a proposal to the State Board for Wildlife and later the Board recommends it and sends it to the National Board of Wildlife for its clearance. After getting nod of the National Board for Wildlife, the user agency carries out the work.
He contended that the district administration has not gone through the process and hence, its construction works are illegal.
“I have asked the district Collector, the RDC (central) and the Settlement Officer of the project by writing letter a couple of days back to abide by the guidelines of the sanctuary and the Wildlife Act,” said the DFO, clarifying that the project can proceed only after getting necessary clearances.
The wildlife activists also toe the line of the DFO. They said it is purely illegal on the part of district administration to construct any work inside the sanctuary without taking proper permission from the concerned authority.
When contacted, district Collector Pramod Kumar Dash stated that he had got no letter from the DFO in this connection. Notably, on June 8, 2011, the then Collector and the former MlA of Rajnagar had laid the foundation stone for the Biju Nagar Resettlement Colony. Earlier in February 2004 , Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik too had laid the foundation stone of the proposed resettlement colony at Magarkanda located around 3 km away from the sea base.
It was proposed that 483 families with a total population of approximately 3,000 would be shifted to the nearby villages, Rabindrapalli,Magarkanda and Dantipada. But the then DFO of Rajnagar had objected to the resettlement works as the proposed site comes under the areas of the Bhitarakanika.