Did not instruct anyone to cut trees for Siolim road widening, Lobo tells RFO

Staff Reporter

Panaji

Adhering to High Court instruction, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo on Friday gave his statement before the Range Forest Officer (RFO) at Campal, Panaji in Siolim tree felling matter.

In his statement, Lobo told RFO Mangaldas Devsekar that he was not involved in tree cutting and did not instruct anyone to cut the trees for road widening in Siolim village.

The High Court had directed Lobo to appear on April 12 before the Range Forest Officer (RFO) to record his statement. The directives came after the Forest Department told the court that Lobo had sought time after a summons was issued to him asking him to depose before the official.  

The PWD had submitted an application, dated January 25, 2023, for issuance of an NOC for cutting and trimming of branches of trees for undertaking widening of Major District Road 10 on either side from Sonarkhed towards Siolim-Chopdem bridge.

Speaking to mediapersons, after recording the statement at the RFO office, Lobo said, “As per my knowledge, all the required permissions were obtained for tree cutting for facilitating road widening. Later, it was alleged that the trees were cut after the time period of permission
expired.”

Lobo said he recorded his statement before the RFO and they will submit it to the court. “Since the matter is in the High Court, it is not right to comment on it. The court will decide on it,” he said.