THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Less than 24 hours after the Tamil Nadu chief minister formally thanked the Kerala CM for granting permission to cut 15 trees to strengthen the baby dam at Mullaperiyar, the LDF government froze the principal chief forest conservator's order in the face of growing public opinion that Kerala's interests had been compromised.
The Kerala government clarified that the order had been issued at the bureaucratic level without taking the consent of the ministers concerned or the chief minister and action would be taken against officials responsible.
A report submitted by the forest department to forest minister A K Saseendran, however, said the sanction was given based on decisions taken at a meeting convened by the additional chief secretary (water resources) on November 1, leading to charges that the government was hiding facts. The opposition sought to know how such a crucial decision can be taken without consulting the minister or the CM.
“It's unbelievable that the order was issued without the knowledge of the state government. We demand a judicial probe in this matter. We have all the details with regard to this matter,” KPCC president K Sudhakaran said.
Former minister and UDF MLA P J Joseph said it was unthinkable that a bureaucrat has issued such an order. "Then the minister has no right to remain in that post. The said order should be withdrawn." BJP state chief K Surendran also came out against the order and said the state government plans to make officials a scapegoat in the issue.
Minister Saseendran, who had a discussion with Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday morning, urged the forest secretary to immediately freeze the sanction given to cut the trees and inform Tamil Nadu authorities about it through a fresh order.
Will discuss with CM on action against IFS officer: Saseendran
The minister said the chief minister had asked him to initiate steps in this regard. It is learnt that the government had also gone in for a legal opinion before freezing the order. “The development came to the notice of my office when the statement from the Tamil Nadu chief minister came. I immediately sought a report from the principal chief conservator of forests and wildlife. If there is such a situation, the government should have been informed. From discussions, I have come to understand that neither the chief minister nor the water resources minister were informed about this crucial decision,” Saseendran said.
Saseendran said action would be taken against officials responsible. “Since this official is an IFS officer, the minister cannot take action against him. The matter will be discussed with the chief minister and a decision taken soon,” he said.
It has come to light that the principal chief conservator of forests and wildlife had informed the additional chief secretary (water resources) of the decision in a letter on November 5. Titled “application to strengthen the baby dam at Mullaperiyar dam site” and referring to the meeting held at the chamber of the additional chief secretary (water resources) on November 1, it said permission has been given “to fell 15 numbers of trees and clearing under woods and saplings within an approximate area of 40 cents in the leased area immediately downstream of Mullaperiyar baby dam”.
Tamil Nadu water resources minister Duraimurugan had on Friday visited Mullaperiyar dam and said his state was looking to raise the water level to 152ft after strengthening the baby dam. Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin had thanked chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the tree-cutting decision on Saturday and said Tamil Nadu will “undertake all steps needed to further strengthen the Mullaperiyar dam and ensure the safety of people living downstream in Kerala”.
Kerala has consistently claimed that the 126-year-old earthen dam structure is structurally weak and being in a seismic zone can imperil lives of hundreds of thousands of people downstream in the event of an accident, and supports the views of several expert studies that the dam be decommissioned and a new dam be built in its place.
