A group of officials with the South Wayanad division of the Forest Department has sought the intervention of the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, citing that they are being bombarded with departmental inquiries prompted by baseless complaints.
In a letter submitted by the Association of Gazetted Forest Officers, Kerala, they have cited that the officials who take stringent action against illegal tree-felling, encroachment are having to deal with fake news and complaints.
“The officials who unearth the fraud are being targeted with allegations of corruption. People responsible for the fraud exert influence on authorities and cook up complaints. Explanations are being repeatedly asked even for anonymous complaints,” the officials said in the letter.
The immediate trigger for the letter is the departmental inquiries ordered against a host of officials, including P. Dhanesh Kumar and A Shajna, two officials who were in charge of the investigation into the Muttil Tree Felling case.
It was Dhanesh Kumar who had first unearthed the magnitude of the case. Though Forest Minister AK Saseendran had announced dropping him from the Special Investigation Team constituted by the forest department, Dhanesh was reinstated on the same day.
A Shajna, a former DFO in South Wayanad, who had extended all support to the legal proceedings in the Muttil Tree felling case, was also allegedly targeted.
She was suspended on charges of supervisory lapses in the Sugandhagiri Tree Felling case, but within a few hours, the order was withdrawn, citing technical errors. Later, she was transferred to Kasargod and was given an insignificant posting.
In the Sugandhagiri tree felling case, it was South Wayanad DFO A Shajna, who had directed Kalpetta Forest Range Officer K Neethu to conduct an on-ground inquiry.
In the Chembra Peak fund scam of Rs 16 lakhs, it was A. Shajna, then South Wayanad DFO, who initiated an audit that had been pending for almost a decade in the eco-tourism unit and also submitted a report on the shortage of funds. She now faces a departmental inquiry following a complaint.
The letter to the CM said that the officials who flag major violations are forced either to play second fiddle to the forest mafia elements or become targets of dirty campaigns through social networking sites. Recently, Deputy Forest Range Officer Aravindakshan Kandethupara, in a letter to the Kerala Forest Protective Staff Association, stated that urgent steps are necessary to counter the malicious campaign.