DIBRUGARH, Nov 27: Despite news reports of forest dwellers cutting and burning down vast tracts of Dibru Saikhowa National Park, no one from the Forest Department has reportedly gone to investigate into the matter. According to local people, the villagers of Laika and Dodhia have been resorting to the slash and burn practices in the national park and biosphere reserve for the last fortnight. They have cleared out more than two hectares of forest area. When concerned locals reported to the Forest Department about smoke rising from the Tongkong area of the park, officials reportedly told them that it was being caused by forest fire without investigating the matter. Angry at the apathetic attitude of the authorities, residents of the nearby areas took the initiative of trying to find the real cause and discovered that the dwellers of the two forest villages were destroying valuable trees of the park. The locals blamed the Forest Range Officer, Aniruddha Dey, and further alleged that lakhs of rupees sanctioned under the Biosphere Scheme had gone to line the pockets of the individuals rather than being put to use. According to reports, more Rs 50 lakh were sanctioned during 2005-08 for plantation of trees in the Dibru Saikhowa National Park, Medela and Telpani reserve forests. However, doubts are being raised about the utilization of the fund.