Twenty-four sal trees have been felled illegally in the Kamala Namuna Community forest in Khoksa of Katari Municipality-2 in the Chure area by the Solu Corridor Transmission Line Project.

The project had sought permission from the District Forest Office, Udayapur just to cut the branches of the trees saying they touched the power cables. But the project later felled the trees without taking permission from the forest authorities, according to locals.

The Solu Corridor Transmission Line Project is a priority project of the government and earlier, the project had cut down about 560 trees with the permission of the forest authorities including the community forest.

According to Chandra Bahadur Karki, vice-chairman of the forest users’ committee, the project illegally cut down green trees without informing the users. Earlier, the project had been given permission to fall 560 trees. As per the government rule, a project has to plant 25 tree saplings per tree felled.

Tulasi Bhattarai, a member of the forest user group, said that the trees were felled illegally in collusion with forest officials. “It is mandatory to seek permission from the forest office along with proper reasons and paperwork before cutting down any tree, but they have chopped the trees without completing the process,” said Bhattarai. He also said that forest users have to take permission even to collect firewood but the project is breaching the rules by calling itself a priority project.

According to Janardan Gautam, chief of the transmission line project, they do not need to seek permission all the time from the forest office to cut down trees that fall under the jurisdiction of the project. Workers were sent to cut the branches but it was next to impossible to do that so they felled the trees instead. “Trees under the jurisdiction of the project were cut down and later we paid the penalties,” said Gautam.

Bindeshwar Shah, Assistant Forest Officer, at the Belsrot Sub-Divisional Forest Office, said no trees should be felled without permission of his office. But last time the corridor transmission line project had felled trees without permission from the Forest Office and was fined.

Meanwhile, Phanindra Pokhrel, division forest officer at the Division Forest Office, Triveni Katari, said that the transmission line project’s two workers and three tractors have been detained for cutting down trees illegally.

"The project cut the branches of several trees while testing the power transmission line. The team sent to cut the branches has felled 24 green trees including a big one. And the project has paid a fine of Rs 111,000 as per the law,” said Pokhrel.

Division Forest Officer Pokharel said that as per the law, the project needs to buy land and plant 25 tree saplings for each tree felled, but the project has not done so.

As per an agreement between the transmission line project and the Department of Forest and Soil Conservation, the project has to plant a total of 206,800 saplings for 8,272 trees it had decided to fall. The saplings have to be conserved for five years and handed over to the Division Forest Office of Triveni, Katari Municipality, Udayapur.