electrical energy after obtaining permits from the forest authorities though under the A.P. Forest Produce Transit Rules, 1970 it is not obligatory to obtain permission. The grievance of the petitioner is that under the guise of a prohibition under A.P. Water, Land Trees Act, 2002 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Trees Act’) Respondent No.4 – Mandal Revenue Officer (Designated Officer), Jaggaiahpet Mandal is seizing vehicles transporting such exempted fire wood to the petitioner factory on the ground that such material was procured by felling the trees without obtaining any prior permission from the Designated Officer. Respondent No.4 has seized number of vehicles transporting the fire wood to the petitioner factory and compounded the offence under coercion and collected thousands of rupees with reference to the quantity of the fire wood under transport under the provisions of Trees Act. According to the petitioner, Respondent No.5 – Divisional Forest Officer, Vijayawada is insisting that the power projects were required to obtain felling permission even for using the exempted category fire wood in view of Section 28(5) of the Trees Act. According to the petitioner, there is no prohibition under the provisions of the Trees Act for cutting or felling any tree which is an exempted species, therefore, imposition of penalty under the provisions of the Trees Act is without jurisdiction and cannot be sustained. 3. In the counter filed by the respondents it is stated that Jaggaiahpeta Mandal where the petitioner company is located is facing air pollution due to the left over material of cement factories and the establishment of the petitioner factory has further increased the pollution level since the petitioner company is encouraging cutting of live trees such as Neem, Thumma etc. for utilizing them as raw material instead of utilizing the bio-mass material such as waste wood, julieflora, agricultural waste. The petitioner company is encouraging the poor labour, small and marginal farmers to cut the living trees in the fields as well as in the private houses to produce the same to their factory for generating power. Under the provisions of the Trees Act, the Government has designated the Mandal Revenue Officer as Ex-Officio Chairman and other Mandal Level Officers as members of the Mandal Authorities. It is the duty of the Mandal Revenue Officer to protect the living trees and also to get tree plantation wherever trees fell due to various reasons. The Mandal Revenue Officer is empowered to compound the offences under Section 37 of the Trees Act and also has the power to seize the property under Section 38. It is further stated that tractors/lorries which are carrying cut trees of neem, tumma etc of the age of 5 to 10 years are only seized and offences are compounded so as to prevent the ryots/farmers/labourers from cutting the living trees. It is specifically averred that apart from the bio-mass material the petitioner company is in the habit of taking delivery of cut trees of neem and other trees of 5 to 10 years which attracts the provisions of the Trees Act. The Mandal Revenue Officer as Designated Authority under the Act has performed his
