Wayanad: The withdrawal of the suspension order of officials in connection with the Sugandhagiri tree felling case barely within 24 hours has exposed the lack of consensus within the Forest Department.
On April 17, Pramod G Krishnan, Additional Principal Chief Forest Conservator (Administration) issued a memo to the officials allegedly responsible for illegal tree felling in Sugandhagiri. The memo sought an explanation from the officials for supervisory lapses. Later this memo was cancelled citing that further steps on this case shall be initiated at the Government level.
On the same day, the department issued an order suspending DFO A Shajna and two other officials. The suspension was ordered without a hearing. It was also pointed out that an explanation was not sought and a charge sheet was not issued. However, on Thursday night, the suspension order was kept in abeyance, reportedly due to mounting pressure from various quarters. The department issued Four conflicting orders regarding the disciplinary action to be initiated against the official in two days.
Forest minister A K Saseendran said that there were some procedural lapses from his office in issuing the suspension order. The suspension order was issued in contravention of the recommendations of the probe team's report. The report said that the explanation of the official shall be sought before initiating any further steps. The official could have easily approached the forest tribunal or court and got the suspension stayed,'' he said.
The report of the special probe team only recommended seeking an explanation from the DFO and a memo was duly issued to her on Wednesday by the Chief Conservator of Forests Pramod G Krishnan.
