Villagers allege theft of valuable trees from HR&CE land

TIRUVALLUR: Residents of a village in Kadambathur petitioned the Collector on Monday requesting him to initiate action against miscreants who have chopped and sold trees from land belonging to Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department.

A group of residents from Valasai Vettikaadu village in Kadambathur met Collector Dr Alby John Varghese on Monday and submitted a complaint claiming that a group of miscreants had recently illegally chopped down trees that were on HR&CE land where five temples were located. “The temple has 22 acres of agricultural soil and the gang which includes former Panchayat president Sekar and his associates have cut down eucalyptus trees grown in 8 acres and palm trees grown in 9 acres without any permissions from the HR&CE officials and sold it to a private entity,” said the petition.

The complainants also alleged that despite airing their concerns about the tree theft to the HR&CE Department prior to this, no action was taken against them. The Collector, who received the complaint, promised swift action on the issue.