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Item No.05

Court No.1

BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL

EASTERN ZONE BENCH, KOLKATA

(THROUGH PHYSICAL HEARING WITH HYBRID MODE)

Original Application No.124/2023/EZ

(Earlier O.A. No.576/2022/PB)

In the matter of:

Mr. Bharat Prakash Rai,

Red Cross Building, Dr. S.M. Das Road,

Darjeeling, Pin – 734101,

…Applicant(s)

Versus

1.

State of West Bengal,

Through Chief Secretary,

Government of West Bengal,

Nabanna (13^th Floor), 325 Sarat Chatterjee Road,

Shibpur, Howrah, Pin – 711102,

2.

Principal Conservator of Forests, (HoFF),

Government of West Benngal,

Aranya Bhawan, LA-10A Block,

Sector-III, Salt Lake, Kolkata,

Pin – 700106,

3.

West Bengal State Pollution Control Board (WBSPCB)

Paribesh Bhavan Canteen, 10A, Broadway Road,

LA Block, Sector-III, Bidhannagar, Kolkata,

Pin – 700106,

4.

District Magistrate, Darjeeling,

Chauk Bazaar, Darjeeling, West Bengal,

Pin – 734101,

5.

M/s Soureni Tea Estate,

(Project Proponent),

P.O.-Soueni Bazar, Kurseong, West Bengal,

Pin – 734227,

…Respondent(s)

Date of hearing: 07.12.2023

CORAM:

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE B. AMIT STHALEKAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER

HON’BLE DR. ARUN KUMAR VERMA, EXPERT MEMBER

For Applicant(s)

: None

For Respondent(s) : Mr. Sibojyoti Chakraborty, Adv. for R-1,2&4, (in Virtual Mode)

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ORDER

1.

Case called out. No one is present on behalf of the Applicant. The

order-sheets of the Delhi Bench of the National Green Tribunal of

07.09.2022, 21.12.2022 and 15.02.2023 also show that the

Applicant, Bharat Prakash Rai, has not appeared before the New

Delhi Bench of the National Green Tribunal.

2.

Cognizance of this case was taken-up by the New Delhi Bench of

the National Green Tribunal and registered as Original Application

No.576/2022/PB on the basis of a letter petition sent by the

Applicant, Bharat Prakash Rai, alleging mass tree felling in Saureni

Tea Garden situated at a distance about 47 kilometers from

Darjeeling District Headquarter. Question was as to how 515 green

trees could be felled on the permission of the District Magistrate,

Darjeeling.

3.

It is also alleged that about 400 trees (conifer) have been chopped

down from 17.04.2022-21.04.2022 at Saureni Bhanjang within the

Tea Garden.

4.

Thereafter the case has been transferred to the Eastern Bench of

the Tribunal, Kolkata, and re-numbered as Original Application

No.127/2023/EZ.

5.

The District Magistrate, Darjeeling, Respondent No.4, has filed

affidavit dated 09.02.2023 stating therein that in a meeting

convened by the District Magistrate, Darjeeling, also attended by

the Divisional Forest Officer, Kurseong, the Divisional Forest Officer

submitted his recommendations on point nos.1&2 which are as

under:-

(i)

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(ii)

6.

The Divisional Forest Officer suggested that in order to control soil

erosion and stabilize landslides, land slip as well as to facilitate

restoration of ecology and habitat in the hill slopes and high slope

gradient area, no trees shall be cut further in Plot No.769.

Permission for felling only shade trees in plot Nos. 1773, 1774 and

1775 near Manju Park may be granted through District Magistrate,

Darjeeling, if found satisfactory after re-evaluating the existing field

situation.

7.

It was also suggested by the Divisional Forest Officer that the Tea

Management shall plant saplings of indigenous tree species as

prescribed by the Forest Department at the ratio of 1:2 and spacing

of 2m X 2m at their own expense in the same plot where ‘Dhupi’

trees were felled. The plantation of the indigenous tree species may

be taken up at the onset of monsoon and completed within a period

of one month preferably by June, 2023. The planted saplings

should be maintained for a period of five years by the Tea Garden

Management on their own expense under the supervision of the

District Administration.

8.

It is further stated in the affidavit that the Additional District

Magistrate and District Land and Land Reforms Officer, Darjeeling,

had submitted a