New DC complex, CCF surveys Padil land

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, June 18, 2016 :The inspection that commenced on June 17, Friday by S M Somsekhar , Chief Conservator of Forests (Central), Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Regional Office, Bengaluru, will continue on Saturday since the survey of the land and trees was incomplete. NGT, National Green Tribunal, Chennai, had given a stay till July 4 for tree felling at the land at Padil to facilitate construction the DC complex and ordered that Central Environment Committee with help from Chief Conservator of Forests inspect the land and give the report. The DC complex is estimated to be constructed at a cost of Rs 41 crore.


Advocate Suma Ramesh, who had filed the petition with NGT, was present along with environmentalists at the site during the inspection.   Earlier a survey done by DK Forest Department concluded the land was not a deemed forest as it had ``identified’’ only 66 of the 386 trees as naturally grown and others in the 5.89 acres and had also determined the land was less than five acres by deducting areas where there was road and buildings.


But petitioners had argued that there were more than 478 trees in the Padil land as per the reports of Departments of Applied Botany and Applied Zoology, Mangalore University. As per the report given by the Department of Botany there are 47 species of trees, 62 species of herbs and shrubs as against the official survey. The said land situated has to be construed as "Deemed Forest" and must be classified as such as it fulfills all field legal norms.