By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: The Angul-Duburi-Sukinda rail link has come under the scanner of National Green Tribunal (NGT) with the panel seeking response from Rail Vikash Nigam Ltd (RVNL), its contractors and Dhenkanal Collector on allegations that huge volumes of earth has been removed from forest land without requisite permission for the project work.

The green court has issued notices to 19 respondents including Revenue Secretary, Member Secretary Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, to file their replies on or before October 26, the next date of hearing.

Basing on a petition filed by social and RTI activist Sashee Bhoosan Patnaik of Keonjhar district, the Tribunal has also directed the Collector of Dhenkanal to inspect the site as alleged in the application and furnish a report, said lawyer for the petitioner Sankar Prasad Pani.

The RVNL is currently constructing Angul-Duburi-Sukinda link which runs from Baghuapal (in Jajpur district) to Budhapank (Angul district), a distance of 97 km.

The petitioner said construction of the earth bed of the railway line from 19 km to 47 km is being undertaken by two contractors. Through RTI applications, he found that the contractors are using huge quantity of earth and morrum by extracting the same from lands adjoining the railway line which are under Kamakshyanagar and Parjang tehsils without any permit from local tehsildars. The RTI applications confirmed the same and revealed that earth has been extracted from forest land in Siarimalia, Muktaposi, Kharianali mouzas in Prajang tehsil.

The petition alleged that the soil and morrum were extracted from forest land without any clearance from the Centre as required under Section 2 of Forest Conservation Act.Around 20 lakh cubic metre of soil has allegedly been extracted so far in the two tehsils without any environment clearance from District Environment Impact Assessment Authority as required for extraction of all minor minerals while no permits or leases have been sanctioned in favour any of the respondents and contractors. The soil mining was allegedly done by uprooting old and mature trees leading to deforestation, Pani said.