G Rajasekaran | Salem THE Sheveroy South Range Office of the forest department on Thursday arrested six tribal youth who were allegedly carrying out repairs on the road within the reserve forest area. The roadwork under the National Rural Employement Guarantee Programme in the tribal village Gundur in Yercaud has kicked off a virtual row between the development department and the forest department. The Collector J Chandrakumar as the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) Chairman sanctioned roadwork on November 11, 2008 with the outlay of Rs 4 lakhs for a distance of 10 km. Gundur village, 1250 feet from the foothills, uses the path that was once used by the British, to reach Salem. No work has ever been undertaken and the tribals had been demanding its widening. The Yercaud Block Development Office filed a proposal under the tourism development fund to convert it into a metal road. For now, Yercaud Panchayat Union council resolved to undertake a temporary maintenance and the villagers had been involved in carrying out the roadwork. The forest department, which had been objecting to it, on Sunday, had warned the villagers to stop the work as the Union Environment and Forest Ministry clearance was not yet obtained.On Thursday a team head , ed by Ranger Mariappan arrested six youth from the village for allegedly carrying out repair works despite their warnings. But the villagers claimed that they were going to work in a mill near the foothills. It maintains that no maintenance work should be undertaken in a reserve forest, under the Forest Conservation Act, while the villagers claim that