Cuttack, May 3: The eastern zone bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has chided the state government and the executing agencies for clearing forest land for expansion of Bhojpur to Chatabar section of NH-200 in Deogarh without forest and environment clearance.

The bench has restrained them from going ahead with road construction on the 60-km stretch. "The project should not continue until all laws are complied with," the bench of Justice S.P. Wangdi (judicial member) said.

The interim order was passed on a petition alleging illegal clearance of 19.58 hectares of forestland involving felling of thousands of trees for the widening of the NH-200 under Deogarh division without prior forest and environment clearance.

"The fact that this is a public project is not a licence for the state to violate the laws with impunity," Justice Wangdi said in his order.

Being the state, the executive engineer NH Division (Deogarh) and its contractor (Sridurga Condev) are expected to comply with the law and obtain all clearances. Therefore, prima facie we are of the view that this is a case where an interim order should be issued;".

"We accordingly, direct the executive engineer NH Division (Deogarh) and its contractor (Sridurga Condev) to withhold themselves forthwith from continuing with the ongoing work of expansion of the road until they satisfy us that they have duly complied with the laws. They shall show cause before the next date as to why this order shall not be made absolute," Justice Wandi said in the order.

"It is admitted that no environment clearance has been obtained by the user agency thereby rendering the entire project illegal," the NGT's eastern zone bench in Calcutta observed.

Two advocates of Deogarh - Biren Kumar Pradhan and Shailendra Kumar Sahu - filed the petition. "While issuing the interim order the NGT fixed May 25 as next date for hearing on the matter," petitioner counsel Sankar Prasad Pani said today.

"Our basic contention is that the entire project work should be declared illegal because the construction commenced without adhering to the forest and environment laws," Pani said.

According to the petition, thousands of trees had been felled, construction material stacked on forest land and soil had been removed from adjoining road without forest and environment clearance. The contractor had also set up a hot mixing plant inside forestland for road construction purposes.