Plea in HC seeks CBI probe into alleged unlawful tree felling, timber smuggling in Kerala
2 min read
By Express News Service
KOCHI: A petition was filed on Monday earlier than the Kerala High Court searching for a CBI probe into the alleged unlawful chopping and smuggling of bushes from Wayanad and different districts in Kerala. The petition was filed by P Purushothaman, a social activist residing in New Delhi.
According to the petitioner, the income orders for felling bushes had been issued with an ulterior motive solely to learn timber merchants fairly than farmers who had been granted ‘Patta’ lands by the federal government with a land income exemption. The income order was meant for a brief interval solely to facilitate corruption. The unlawful chopping and eradicating of bushes was unearthed after it came about in Muttil, Wayanad, he mentioned.
The petitioner alleged {that a} part of income and forest official and politicians of the ruling occasion are conspiring with the timber mafia for the unlawful acts. They even used the lockdown following the pandemic as a further cowl to chop and transport precious bushes from non-public land. According to the petitioner, timber price Rs 100 crore was felled and eliminated within the final yr. Other than Idukki and Wayanad, districts together with Thrissur, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Malappuram and Pathanamthitta have witnessed the felling of bushes, he mentioned.
The petitioner alleged that the current investigation by the income and police departments is simply an eyewash. There is not going to be a good investigation as authorities officers have been additionally concerned within the case. One of the accused individuals can be having a powerful affect within the LDF Ministry and the ruling occasion members are additionally concerned within the forest theft. If the state company continues the investigation, there’s a likelihood for tampering with proof, he mentioned. The petitioner additionally sought a court-monitored investigation within the case.
