The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal has given one month to the Kerala Forest Department for submitting its report on the steps taken to prevent forest fires and implement the National Action Plan on Forest Fire in the State.
An order by the Bench, comprising Justice K. Ramakrishnan and expert member Saibal Dasgupta, on June 11 said three months had passed after it directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the Head of the Forest Force in Thiruvananthapuram to submit a report on the steps taken to prevent such incidents in the aftermath of a fire that killed three forest guards at Kottambathur, near Desamangalam, in Thrissur on February 16.
More time sought
The government sought two months for filing the report when the case was taken up on Thursday.
The order said regarding implementation of the National Action Plan on Forest Fire, an action taken report could have been prepared and submitted based on available records, for which two months was not required.
“Considering the circumstances, we grant one-month time to the official respondents to comply with the direction issued by this tribunal by order dated 27.02.2020,” said the order.
