After keeping him under suspension for close to a month, the State government reinstated Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden Bennichan Thomas on Thursday.
Mr. Thomas was suspended from service for permitting the Executive Engineer of the Tamil Nadu Water Resources department to cut down 15 trees in the area adjacent to the baby dam near the Mullaperiyar dam without following the applicable rules and consultative procedures, according to the government order that reinstated the official.
The suspension was withdrawn on the recommendation of the Suspension Review Committee that the order issued by Mr. Thomas permitting Tamil Nadu to cut down the trees was cancelled by the State government and that no trees were felled in the area as per his earlier order.
The committee observed that there was no need to continue to place Mr. Thomas under suspension in the wake of the government cancelling his order. Mr. Thomas was reinstated ‘pending finalisation of disciplinary action with the condition that decisions on all matters relating to Mullaperiyar will be taken at the level of the Head of Forest Force/government only in future.’
Though the post of the Chief Wildlife Warden is a statutory one as defined in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the State government left it vacant during the suspension period of Mr. Thomas.
The Hindu had on Tuesday reported that the State ran the legal risk of leaving the statutory post vacant for close to one month. Various organisations of the civil service officers, including the associations of the Indian Forest, Administrative and Police Services, had petitioned the State and the Union government to revoke the suspension.
Mr. Thomas chose to stay at home during the suspension period than challenging the decision at the Central Administrative Tribunal.
