15 khair trees felled in Una

Our Correspondent

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Una, March 16

Fifteen khair trees were reportedly felled in the forest area at Ambehra Dheeraj panchayat of Amb. The matter was brought to the notice of the Forest Department today.

Forest Range Officer Rattan Kashyap said 110 logs of khair wood had been seized from the spot and a damage report had been filed against Rajesh Kumar, a forest contractor belonging to the same village.

Kashyap said as part of the 10-year felling plan, the cutting of mature khair trees had been started by the Forest Department in Ambehra Dheeraj panchayat and locals had agreed to sell their mature khair trees to the said contractor. However, he ventured into the adjoining area and cut 15 trees illegally.

The Range Officer said an FIR had been lodged. The matter came to light because of some heated argument between the contractor and a panchayat member over some payment issue. It was the latter who informed the Forest Department about the illegal felling.