VISA Power (VPL), a part of the VISA Group, has allegedly cut down a large number of trees in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh where the company is coming up with a 1200-Mw power project.
The issue came up in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly today when senior Congress member Dr Shakrajit Nayak charged that VPL had cut down more than 300 trees illegally for its power plant coming up near Deveri and Dumarpali in Raigarh district. The member said the administrative official had recovered 35 trees and registered an offence against the company.
“In all seven offences have been registered against the company in the court of Naib Tehsildar and further action is being taken for cutting down trees without taking required permission,” Chhattisgarh Minister for Housing and Environment Rajesh Munat said.
During spot inspection, the official found 40 trees were cut down illegally, Munat said, contending opposition member's claim that more than 300 trees were cut down.
The minister said the revenue department had seized all the trees that were illegally cut down by the VPL and further action was being taken against the company for violating the norms.
VPL, a part of VISA group, is setting up two units of 600-Mw each near Deveri and Dumarpali--about 15 kms from the district headquarters of Raigarh.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked between VPL and Chhattisgarh Government in 2007 for the project. The units are scheduled to be commissioned in 2013.
The Company has secured an allocation of 99.12 million tonnes of coal in Fatehpur East Coal Block, about 65 km from the power project site- out of the overall reserves of 450 million tonnes.
The VPL had however denied that the trees were cut down by the company for the project.
“We have 832 acres of land without fencing and boundary, and it is possible that the villagers might have cut down the trees as it is not possible to man just a vast uncovered area”, Subrato Trivedi, Director (Projects) of VPL, said over telephone.
