Posinivaripalem panchayat imposed a fine of 4,000 on a person

At a time when countless number of trees are being felled for various projects across the State, the Posinivaripalem panchayat of Guduru mandal in Krishna district imposed a fine of 4,000 on a person, who cut a 24-year-old tree on the banks of the irrigation canal.

In early July, Siva (name changed) cut off a gigantic Albizia saman (Nidra Ganneru) tree on the banks of Ramaraju irrigation canal in the Posinavaripalem panchayat limits.The Electricity Department authorities reportedly hired Siva to cut the branches of the tree to replace the existing wires. However, Mr. Siva was found guilty of deliberately axing the tree to make some money by selling the wood to brick industries.

Given the location of the tree, removal of the tree branches was enough, but Mr. Siva chopped the entire tree with an electric saw, reportedly without any prior communication to the locals. Irate villagers brought the issue into the notice of sarpanch Posina Srinivas.

On Thursday, the panchayat invited the line inspector, linemen of their area and the accused to attend the grama sabha.In a two-hour-long grama sabha held at the site where the tree was felled, the panchayat imposed a fine of 4,000 for felling the tree following a brainstorming discussion that aimed at identifying the accused. Nearly 35 village elders representing all the three villages under the panchayat — Ganjalapalem, Posinavaripalem and Pindivaripalem — fixed the fine.

“The grama sabha had taken the decision of imposing a fine on the accused following a thorough examination of the issue in the presence of all the stakeholders. The fine would be handed over to the irrigation staff taking care of the Ramaraju canal,” Mr. Posina Srinivas told The Hindu.The village elders have expressed concern over the felling of the tree, citing that shepherds, cattle rearers and Kalamkari and agriculture workers used to take rest under the mighty tree.