Bhubaneswar, Sept. 10 -- https://images.odishatv.in/uploadimage/library/16_9/16_9_0/recent_photo_1712248924.JPG
Disposing a litigation which was initiated nearly 50 years ago, the Orissa High Court has directed the state's forest department to pay compensation to two registered contractors, who could not fell trees despite making payment to the government for doing so.
In a ruling, Justice Dixit Krishna Sripad held that the forest department must supply to the contractors the agreed quantity of logs through the Orissa Forest Development Corporation or any other agency within three months.
The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakh on the forest department by way of exemplary costs, citing their responsibility for "a slew of avoidable ...