Class VIII boy’s complaint ensures Telangana man gets Rs 62,000 fine for cutting tree

HYDERABAD:  An environmentally-aware Class VIII boy’s complaint led to a man getting penalised Rs 62,075 for chopping down a tree at Saidabad in Hyderabad, The young boy dialled the Telangana Forest Department’s toll free number (1800 425 5364) to report the axing of a neem tree, which is said to be around 40 years old.

Boy’s plaint gets swift response

The officials responded immediately and fined G Santhosh Reddy of Saidabad for felling the tree at the site where is constructing a house. Speaking to Express, Hyderabad Forest Range Officer Ch Venkataiah Goud said: “At 4 am, the boy called our toll-free number and informed that a chopped tree was being loaded into a vehicle to be moved away.

The boy apparently woke up after hearing the noise.” “The staff that answered the call informed me and I also spoke with the boy. He refused to reveal his name and other details but said he was a member of the Green Brigade,” he added. Under the Ku Haritha Haram programme, the Telangana government had directed schools to create ‘Green Brigades’, with students and teachers as members, to protect the saplings planted as part of the scheme.

Soon after receiving the complaint, Goud and other Forest Department staff rushed to the spot, where they found equipment used for chopping the tree and a burned stump. They also found that Reddy failed to follow the due procedure and also not sought permission to cut the tree.