The court has ruled that the accused was guilty of cutting down trees within the road jurisdiction without proper documentation and transporting the timber, and has sentenced them to imprisonment and fines.
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Eight people, including Rapti Rural Municipality Chairman Prakash Bista and three ward chairmen, have been found guilty in a case of wanton felling of trees along the East-West Highway in the Deukhuri area of the Rapti Valley, the capital of Lumbini Province.
The bench of District Judge Rajeshwor Aryal on Poush 2 decided to imprison Rapti Rural Municipality Chairman Bista, Ward No. 1 Ward Chairman Gem Bahadur Khadka, Ward No. 5 Ward Chairman Dev Prasad Chaudhary, timber purchasers Jhabindra Bhandari, Abhiyan Chaudhary, Nandu Giri and Kesh Bahadur Chaudhary for 15 days each.
Similarly, Rapti Rural Municipality Chairman Ward No. 4 Bir Bahadur Chaudhary was sentenced to one month in prison and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 141,226, informed the court's information officer Gokarna Wali. He said that Chaudhary had given a statement that he had sold trees for Rs 141,226 and spent it on ward work, so he was ordered to pay the fine.
Among the nine defendants, the court has acquitted Rampukar Jaiswal, the then chief of the Road Division Office, Dang. The court has decided to impose imprisonment and fine for cutting trees within the road jurisdiction without permission.
The case was filed on November 10, 2007, based on the complaint report of Assistant Forest Officer Chhotelal Chaudhary of the Division Forest Office Lamahi, Deukhuri, Dang. The Road Division Office, Dang, had issued a public notice on November 20, 2079, giving a 15-day notice to vacate the structures within the road jurisdiction.
Using the notice as an excuse, 2,700 bushes, shrubs and trees along the highway were cut in the name of bush clearance for the implementation and welcoming of the capital. Rapti Rural Municipality Chairman Bista, however, has responded by claiming that he was not involved in the tree cutting work and has responded by going to the High Court for further justice.
