The state government has suspended T R Jayachandran, an under-secretary with the General Administration Department, for illegal felling and transport of trees from the campus of Council for Food Research and Development (CFRD), Konni. Jayachandran functioned as the senior administrative officer of the CFRD. He was placed under suspension following a probe report filed by the Supplyco General Manager who is in-charge of the CFRD.

As per the report, quotations were invited for felling trees on the CFRD campus. Jayachandran accepted a higher quotation sum of ₹33,000 even though a lower amount of ₹25,000 was quoted. The panchayat tree committee had given sanction to fell 14 manchiyam trees, two teak trees and one njaval (Java plum) tree.

Jayachandran, however, felled hundreds of trees and transported logs in five trucks without complying with norms for felling trees on government land. He did not follow the rules for auction either. The probe found that he had transported logs weighing over 1 lakh kg from the campus causing loss to the tune of ₹10 lakh.

The government, based on the report, suspended Jayachandran pending inquiry after it was concluded that trees were felled on government land without prior sanction.