NHAI, forest officials clash over road work in Hastinapur sanctuary, 4 hurt

Bijnor: A long-simmering dispute between the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the forest department in Bijnor escalated into a clash late Tuesday evening, leaving four officials injured and triggering cross-complaints in which both sides accused each other of serious wrongdoing, including assault, abduction and violations of forest laws.The clash surfaced when NHAI officials brought injured engineer Anoop Kumar and driver Kawal Singh to district medical college for treatment. Soon, two injured forest department personnel also arrived for treatment.Both sides submitted written complaints to the police. NHAI officials alleged that forest department officials abducted Anoop Kumar and assaulted Kawal Singh while work was underway on Bijnor Barrage Road on NH-119 near Navalpur village, where soil was being used for highway construction. They claimed that the two men were beaten with rifle butts, leaving the driver unconscious.Based on Kawal's complaint, a case was registered against sub-divisional forest officer (SDO) Gyan Singh, his team members Yogendra Singh and Vivek Mohan, and two unidentified staff under sections 191(2) (rioting), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 140(2) (kidnapping for ransom), and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of BNS.Countering the claims, the SDO said allegations levelled against the forest department were fabricated. "We did not abduct the engineer. Our team was conducting a routine inspection of the construction site, and found that the NHAI's project implementation unit (PIU) was violating NOC norms by carrying out work in Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary area. Anoop was arrested."The SDO said the site lacked speed breakers and speed control signage. Labour camps were illegally set up and dumper trucks were parked without authorization, and NHAI workers were illegally felling trees for firewood, he alleged."They were found involved in illegal transportation of timber and illegal mining in the protected area. The site also lacked a temporary forest check post and wildlife protection signs. Bio-fencing on both sides of the proposed road was not implemented," he said, adding NHAI officials had forcibly freed two seized trucks.The SDO said that they had filed a complaint against NHAI authorities at Bijnor city police station. "The police did not take any action on our complaint, but they registered an FIR against us based on the driver's complaint," he said, adding that the department registered a case against NHAI under sections of Indian Forest Law and provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act.On Wednesday, Bijnor district magistrate Jasjit Kaur formed a three-member committee, including the SDM and the circle officer to investigate the matter. "The team will check whether forest laws were violated by NHAI and submit a report to the DM office," he said.The dispute dates back nearly two years when the forest department accused NHAI of illegal sand mining from the Ganga near the barrage. The case is in court.