Thiruvananthapuram: The suspended Chief Wildlife Warden of the Forest Department Bennichen Thomas has approached the Kerala government claiming that the decision to issue the tree-felling order was a collective one taken at the higher-level and he alone cannot be blamed for the act.
In his explanation to the government, he made it clear that the order was issued with the knowledge of Additional Chief Secretary T K Jose and he had got clear instructions from the top level to expedite the issuance of the order.
Bennichan also pointed out that the additional chief secretary had called official meetings thrice in connection with the issue. Bennichen gave his explanation to Forest Minister A K Saseendran and Head of the Forest Department, P K Keshavan.
On Thursday the Kerala government suspended Bennichen Thomas, IFS, over the controversial order granting permission to Tamil Nadu to fell 15 trees growing in the close vicinity of the baby dam of the larger Mullaperiyar Dam.
Tamil Nadu had been approaching Kerala with the demand for cutting trees since 2012 in a bid to reinforce the baby dam prior to increasing the water level in the Mullaperiyar Dam to 152 feet. But their request had been rejected on many grounds. On May 29, 2015, a request was received from Tamil Nadu through the "Parivesh" portal and it was accepted.
IFS officers association backs Bennichen
Meanwhile, the Head of the Forest Department and the Association of the IFS officers met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and requested him to withdraw the suspension of Bennichen Thomas.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reportedly told them that the government would examine the issue. The association also met the forest minister and raised the same demand.
e-files implicate govt
As reported earlier documents in the public domain show Kerala's official communication to Tamil Nadu about the decision to strengthen the baby dam. The decision was taken at the Secretary-level meeting between both the States on September 17.
The e-file documents also showed that the Water Resources Department came to know about the tree felling six months ago. So, the government's claim that there was no file on tree-felling is hollow. It was evident from the e-files that the file on tree-felling reached the Water Resources Ministry on May 23.
Moreover on October 27, the Kerala government informed the Supreme Court the decision of the meeting held on September 17 to allow tree-felling. It was communicated by Kerala's standing counsel G Prakash in a four-page note to the Supreme Court.
The question whether such a crucial note could be given to the Supreme Court without the approval of the chief minister's office is pertinent.
In addition, Additional Chief Secretary T K Jose, Forest Principal Secretary Rajesh Kumar Sinha, KSEB Chairman Dr B Ashok, Water Resources Secretary Pranab Jyothi Nath and Chief Wildlife Warden Bennichen Thomas were among the 14 officials who attended the meeting held with Tamil Nadu on September 17.
Pinarayi mum
The tree-felling controversy has assumed a new dimension as the chief minister continued his silence on the matter. TK Jose has also not responded to the charges.
Jose is currently under treatment for COVID-19.
Bennichen, on his part, is distancing himself from the media. The Chief Secretary is currently inquiring about the controversial issue.
