The divisional forest officer of Varanasi has informed the National Green Tribunal that seven sandalwood trees along with 26 other types of trees were "illegally" felled inside the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) campus.
Forest department officials found that 161 trees were cut on the 1,300-acre campus while permission was granted for 135, the divisional forest officer (DFO) said in a reply dated October 31 that was uploaded on the NGT's website on Friday.
On July 31, while hearing a plea alleging unauthorised felling of trees at BHU, the NGT had sought a report from a joint committee comprising the regional office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the DFO.
"The university cut 26 other types of trees without permission from the forest department and this was brought to the notice of the inspector general, Lucknow regional office of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) through a letter dated October 15, 2024," the reply in Hindi said.
It also "illegally" cut seven sandalwood trees, one of the most expensive species of trees, according to the reply.
To compensate for the 135 trees that the university was permitted to cut, the authorities planted 1,630 plants, it said.
On the unauthorised felling of sandalwood trees, the reply said the forest department was not informed about it.
"The BHU campus is surrounded by walls on all sides and the university administration has deployed security guards at all gates to monitor movement and CCTV cameras have also been installed. Despite this, the illegal cutting of trees, their illegal transportation or theft is suspicious," it said.
The letter sent by the Varanasi forest conservator to the MoEFCC's regional office, which is annexed with the reply, gives further details about the felling of sandalwood trees.
The forest officials found evidence of illegal felling of seven sandalwood trees and the team marked the GPS location of their stumps, the letter said.
"When the team asked the university administration about the sandalwood trees, it was informed that they were stolen on October 13 and the entire wood was missing," it said.
An FIR was lodged about the theft of "precious trees" on a complaint lodged by the university's assistant security officer at Varanasi's Lanka police station. However, the complaint did not make any mention of the sandalwood trees.
"In the said FIR, the type and price of the wood has not been recorded and neither has any information regarding this been given by the university administration to the forest department," the letter said.
"Security guards are deployed 24 hours at the said place in the university and CCTV cameras are also installed and security arrangements have been made at every gate to prevent any material from being taken out.
"Then this incident of theft is suspicious as the said sandalwood trees were cut and the entire wood disappeared overnight. No suitable effort was made by the university administration to catch the perpetrators and recover the precious wood," it said.
