BMC shocks forest department

BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has landed itself in a spot by erecting a transmission line for street lighting inside the Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary.As per Forest Conservation Act, use of forest land for non-forest purposes necessitates approval of the Government of India and in this case, understandably, no such permission has been taken. The Forest Department, which has taken notice of the ‘violation’, has sought action against the executive engineer concerned of the urban local body.Recently, the municipal corporation issued work orders for street lighting in slums inside the limits of Chandaka-Dampara Sanctuary area, and as per the norms, any non-forest work by the BMC would have needed sanction of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.The matter came to light when the officials of Chandaka Wildlife Division detected three electric poles in the Hatiasuni slums and stopped the progress of the work. The locals, however, protested the action by the Forest Division officials and even detained a few of them.Sources in the PCCF Office stated that Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Chandaka Wildlife Division has written to the Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF), Nodal, seeking action against the executive engineer of Division- 1 of the BMC for the violation.The DFO also asked the BMC to stop the street lighting connection to Hatiasuni slums located inside the sanctuary and hence unauthorised.The BMC had issued work orders for street lighting from Ekamra Villa to Pharmacy College, Adivasi Gaon School Road, Hatiasuni slum to Sakti Vihar mandir, Ekamra Vihar Shiv Temple to Hatiasuni slums, Nirankari Math to Ekamra Vihar Trinath Temple and Jagannath Vihar to Reddy Sahi. The Wildlife Division stated that the street lighting in these areas will mean taking up the work inside the sanctuary area.The DFO has also written to Cesu not to charge the lines.