Shimla hotel owner cuts 5 Deodar trees without permission, lands in trouble

Shimla: A private hotel owner axed five Deodar trees without seeking the requisite permission from the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department in the heart of the capital town recently.

Divisional Forest Officer Puneeta Bhardwaj said that after probing the matter challan has been moved to the forest Court at Shimla and the wood was also seized from the custody of the hotel owner.

On the complaint of the Ramakrishna Mission local unit, the state forest department took action against the hotel owner who axed five trees without seeking permission.

According to the hotel owner, an application was moved for permission to cut five dangerous trees near the hotel, and they were given the go-ahead verbally. However, the DFO and SDM concerned stated that they did not allow the hotel owner to cut any trees. Moreover, there is a dispute with the land owner.

Ramakrishna Mission has now moved an application before the revenue authority to get demarcation of the lands where the tree has been axed.

According to the DFO damage report, trees worth Rs 40000 have been cut and all the timber wood was handed over to the possession of hotel owner till the matter finally decided by Forest Court Shimla.

In the name of removing dangerous trees near the house, no one can cut trees without permission and if the dangerous tree is not in the land of the applicants, the matter should be decided by the administration and Tree Committee of Shimla MC.

No cedar tree can be cut in Shimla MC without having permission from the authorities concerned. In Shimla MC, the SDM allows the cutting of tree after getting permission and a field report from forest authority.

Shimla has thick Deodar forests in Jakhu, Kaithu, Summerhill, and near IGMC hospital in the 16 green areas of the town. (UNI)