Mangaluru: The Mangaluru City Corporation has collected Rs 6.5 crore as greenery cess in the last 14 years, but not utilised it for the purpose it was collected. Environmentalists allege the money has been swindled by the officials.

Promising a greener city, the MCC began collecting cess from the public since April, 2003. Fourteen years down the line, the civic body has used less than a per cent of the money collected, reveal documents.

In a reply to an RTI application filed by environmentalist Shashidhar Shetty the forest department has said of the Rs 6.51 crore collected, the MCC has utilized just Rs 4.5lakh.

P Shridhar, range forest officer, Mangaluru, told that there are only two ways in which the MCC could use the greenery cess – either by handing the money over to the forest department and making the department utilise the money for the cause, or by forming a forest union. Since there is no forest union in the MCC limits, the first option is the only way out to use the greenery cess.

Sridhar said the MCC has, so far, given Rs 4.5 lakh to the forest department mainly as compensation for axing the trees for development work.

“When the MCC axes one tree for any purpose, we charge the civic body for two trees.

The government has fixed the rate per tree at Rs 1,911. So, we collect around Rs 4,000 if one tree is felled. Barring this, they have given some equipment,” he said.

As per the Cooperative Society Act, the fee collected for any development activity in a financial year has to be used in the immediate succeeding year. However, the MCC has not used the cess ince 14 years. Even during the last year, the civic body has collected Rs 44.94 lakhs.

A source in the forest department who did not wish to be named said the MCC hasn’t been doing enough to promote greenery. “It doesn’t give us the money collected to promote greenery. As a result we are forced to approach industries and other organisations for funds,” he added.

When contacted the environment section of the MCC, an official said the town planning section is the department which is handling the greenery cess. When contacted Balakrishna Gowda, town planning officer, MCC, said he had no idea about the money and said; “We do not chalk out the programmes. The engineering section may know about it.”

The green belt in the city has been on the decline ever since multi-storeyed buildings have seen a meteoric rise.