On October 14, speaking to the press, Mr. Dam Van Hung - Director of Thanh Hoa Provincial Forest Protection Branch - said that in the morning of the same day, Mr. Cao Van Cuong - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) of Thanh Hoa province - directly went to inspect the scene and directed the clarification of the incident in which dozens of special-use forest trees belonging to the Ba Trieu Temple National Special Relic Site (Trieu Loc commune, Hau Loc district, Thanh Hoa province) were suddenly cut down.
According to Mr. Hung, the authorities have identified 60 trees that have been cut down. The inspection and counting work is still underway, so the area and volume of wood that has been cut down have not yet been determined. Hau Loc District Police are investigating the exploitation subject for prosecution.
Regarding the information that the Railway Department and the People's Committee of Trieu Loc Commune allowed the trees to be cut down, Mr. Hung said that the Railway Department has proposed to deal with about 60 trees in the above area. However, it has not been approved by the authorities.
Previously, on the afternoon of October 11, local residents and the press discovered a group of people carrying chainsaws brazenly cutting down trees in the special-use forest area located on Gai Mountain (belonging to the Ba Trieu Temple National Special Monument).
Actual records here show that dozens of trees (mainly acacia and green lim) that are decades old were cut down. In some locations, the trees have been removed from the forest, leaving only stumps, while in some locations, the trees have just been cut down and have not yet been transported out of the forest, lying haphazardly.
Only when the reporter called the authorities did Mr. Le Van Binh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Trieu Loc commune - find out and order the tree cutting to stop. Mr. Binh said that this is a special-use forest, and permission must be obtained to cut a single branch.
Leaders of Trieu Loc Commune People's Committee and Ha Trung District Forest Protection Department (the unit assigned to manage and protect forests in Ha Trung, Nga Son districts, Bim Son town and part of the forest area of Hau Loc district) confirmed that the special-use forest was cut down without permission from any competent authority.
Mr. Trinh Trung Nhat - Head of the Forest Protection Department of Ha Trung district - added that the cutting down of forest trees in the Ba Trieu temple area was carried out by the Railway sector in coordination with the People's Committee of Trieu Loc commune, and the Forest Protection Department was not involved.
However, according to Mr. Dam Van Hung - Branch Manager of Thanh Hoa Province Forestry, the Forestry is also responsible for the incident of the special-use forest being cut down right next to the road, in broad daylight, without the Forestry force knowing.
Mr. Hung explained that, those days, the Forest Rangers were busy dealing with the bird and stork catching problem so they did not detect it in time.
