More than 10,328 trees have cut for construction of Biju Expressway from Sohela in Bargarh district to Nuapada covering a distance of 120 km.
As per forest guidelines, the Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) should undertake plantation twice as much of the trees cut in the construction of road.
This should be tenfold of the trees cut in industrial sector.
But here, the OFDC has neglected its duties, while plantations are shown to have been undertaken in pen and paper, alleged locals led by environmentalist Gopal Sahu.
They demanded a probe into the plantations scam by the Vigilance department. They also demanded that the OFDC should rope in local organisations and NGOs in plantation of roads and in industrial sectors, besides their maintenance.
