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NAINITAL: The state government’s decision to not construct an ISBT at a site shortlisted for the project in Haldwani has drawn flak from many quarters.

The state cabinet recently approved a decision not to construct the ISBT as a graveyard was sighted by local residents at the site this year. The project is to be shifted to a new location which is yet to be identified. Construction work on the Rs 85 crore project started last year.

Activists and environmentalists have criticized the government’s decision after an RTI revealed that more than 2,600 trees have been felled at the project site.

Ravi Shankar Joshi , a Haldwani-based resident who filed the RTI, told TOI, “The RTI states that 2,625 trees were cut down for the project. The project is being shifted because of the nexus between the politicians and the land mafia. The project will be shifted to a site where rates of the land are inflated to benefit a few. I will approach the judiciary or the National Green Tribunal on the matter.”

Tanuja Joshi , who earned the moniker of ‘Gulmohar Girl’ for her plantation drive across the state, said, “It is awful that thousands of trees were felled and then the project was shifted. Who will compensate for this loss to the environment?”

Meanwhile, former state cabinet minister and Haldwani MLA from the Congress Indira Hridayesh has said that she would start a hunger strike if a new site for the project is not announced within 30 days.