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Sunday, September 18, 2011

BRO assures High Court that funds for afforestation will be released soon

COURT GIVES AGENCY ONE MONTH TO SO AND PUTS ON RECORD THAT NO MORE EXTENSIONS WILL BE ALLOWED
GANGTOK, 16 Sept: The Border Roads Organisation has assured the High Court of Sikkim that money would soon be sanctioned by the BRO for afforestation works related to road expansion projects here. Karma Thinley, government advocate, appearing on behalf of the Union of India today submitted that the Director General, BRO would soon be sanctioning the funds to take up afforestation works concerning some of the projects which have been accorded final approval.
In this regard, it is informed that the central government agencies, including the BRO, are working together with the State government to expedite the process.
The High Court has taken a stern view of the matter and has given the agency and the other central agencies just over a month’s time by which the money should be sanctioned.
Acting Chief Justice SP Wangdi further ruled that no further time would be allowed as the matter has been pending for a long time now and the agencies seemed to have lost the sense of urgency and importance of the issue to the state of Sikkim. The court further urged the State and Central agencies to expedite the process.
The road project works include widening works along NH31A, the JN Marg and the North Sikkim Highway.
As for the delay in other road project works in Sikkim and West Bengal, it was informed that for some of the projects, the Ministry of Environment and Forests had been asked to intimate the rates of afforestation while in some of the projects which had been granted approval in-principle, the BRO was waiting for the West Bengal government to intimate the regional office of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Bhubaneswar, thereafter which funds would be sanctioned by the Ministry.

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