Authorities in Uttarakhand have initiated a probe into the alleged illegal felling of more than 2,000 trees over the last six months near Gajana village in New Tehri. The felling, allegedly for developing a new private colony, apparently took place in connivance with officials of the Forest Department in the district. According to sources, the colony is being developed by one Virender Singh Sajwan alias Pappu and some senior forest officers supposedly have plots in the colony.

“I have ordered a probe into this serious matter. The information is that more than 2,000 trees were chopped while the permission was sought for cutting only 40 trees. I have detailed the Additional District Magistrate and Chief Development Officers to go to the spot and count the trees that have been chopped,” said Tehri District Magistrate Saujanya. She has called for all the notifications and orders related to the development of the colony. “We need to investigate what permissions were sought and what was granted over the period of time,” the DM said.

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) RBS Rawat said that forest authorities had also taken a serious note of the incident and that a departmental probe had been initiated into the matter. "Initial findings have revealed that the trees were cut on a private piece of land. But cutting of trees in excess of the permission granted by the department is a serious matter and we are investigating it on priority," he said.

Meanwhile, Sajwan has claimed that the colony was being developed on private land and only those many trees were being

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