Govt shifts tree-felling powers to forest dept from municipal bodies

Bhopal: Municipal bodies would not have the powers to give permission to cut trees anymore. The forest dept's permission would be needed for cutting or removing trees in the MP cities.The decision, which appears aimed to make getting permissions to cut trees difficult, may help to save the green cover of cities. Over eight thousand trees were cut in Bhopal alone for the smart city project. As per the govt orders in all urban local bodies of MP, permission for cutting trees on private or govt land can no longer be granted by district administration or municipal corporation officials. The state government has taken away this authority from urban bodies and district administration officials and handed it over to the forest department.Now, anywhere in the state, permission for cutting trees must be obtained from the forest department's range officer (forest ranger). If permission is denied, an appeal can be made to the sub-divisional forest officer (SDO forest). TNN