Forest roads, podu issues take centre stage at review meeting

‘Wait for NBW permissions a hurdle for road network in remote villages’

Minister for Environment and Forests A. Indrakaran Reddy described permissions required from the National Board for Wildlife as a roadblock for the road network sought to be developed for remote villages in the joint Adilabad district.

Addressing a review meeting on the progress of roads in the district, Mr. Indrakaran Reddy promised to visit New Delhi and discuss the issue with Central government officials for expediting permissions.

He directed the State forest officials to speed up road building to Adivasi hamlets in the district, within the purview of the Forest and Environment related laws.

Addressing the meeting convened with legislators from the erstwhile Adilabad district along with Special Chief Secretary A.Santhi Kumari, PCCF R.M. Dobriyal, the Minister asked Engineering wing officials to discuss the works with Forest department officials at the proposal stage. Detailed discussions should be carried out on the objections raised by the Forest department, followed by a study to arrive at reasonable ways to overcome them.

Together, the officials should try to obtain forest permissions without delay, he suggested. He said the government is committed to the mission of laying roads to unconnected villages.

Legislators who attended the meeting, including Jogu Ramanna, Koneru Konappa, Vithal Reddy, Rekha Shyam Nayak, Diwakar Rao, Atram Sakku, Rathod Bapu Rao, Durgam Chinnaiah, and Dande Vithal, brought issues faced by villagers due to lack of roads to the notice of the Minister and officials.

Mr.Indrakaran Reddy, who presided over the meeting in his capacity as the district coordination committee chairman, also discussed the issue of “podu” lands with the legislators, and said the government is attempting to balance it with forest protection.