Corruption in Forest Department; vigilance clamps down; top officials also under suspicion

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau is investigating the role of high-ranking officials in corruption in forest department constructions. This comes in the backdrop of the discovery of documents showing illegal money transfers of Rs 1.07 crore from contractors to the accounts of officials in the raids under Operation Jungle Safari and Vanaraksha conducted at 71 forest offices. The transactions of five years including the contract will be directly examined.

Vigilance has found that there have been widespread irregularities in the construction of elephant trenches, elephant walls, solar fencing and other buildings. It has been revealed that most of the work was not as per the estimate and the construction was of poor quality.

Complaints sabotaged by forest vigilance

The contractor deposited Rs 72 lakhs in the accounts of the Vallakadavu range officer and his relatives and Rs 1.36 lakhs in the account of another institution suggested by him. Vigilance also found that Rs 31 lakhs were deposited in various accounts given by the Thekkady range officer. The forest chief suspended range officers K.E. Sibi and Arun K. Nair pending an investigation into the incidents. The employees allege that the investigation was sabotaged, citing a lack of evidence despite several complaints being filed with the forest vigilance against irregularities.

The contracts are being awarded in the name of public sector undertakings including Silk. However, the work is being done by giving subcontractors a small amount of 25-30 percent of the tender amount. It has been found that the benami of high-ranking forest officials abandoned the construction halfway after taking the subcontract and got the bill passed in full.