601 trees axed illegally by 3 persons including a contractor in Ropar
601 trees illegally axed by three persons including a contractor from the forest area, following which a heavy penalty of Rs 5 lakh was imposed on them today.
The incident came to light when the new Range Officer took over on December 30. The trees, including khair, kikar and shisham, were axed in Mohiwal village near Anandpur Sahib.
On December 29, the then Block Officer and officiating Range Officer Ranjodh Singh was suspended after more than 400 khair trees were found illegally axed in the Paharpur area. Officiating Range Officer Randhir Singh Chakkal said in the second fortnight of December, the local forest guard and range officer were on leave.
He alleged that after the suspension of Ranjodh, he was given additional charge of Anandpur Sahib Range Officer on December 30. He got a complaint that hundreds of trees axed in Mohiwal village.
Upon investigation, it was found that the trees were axed at the behest of land owners Sohan Lal and Prem Singh.
Contractor Gurnam Singh axed the trees on the land notified under the Punjab Land Preservation Act, alleged Chakkal.
-PTC News
