Forest dept comes down heavily on revenue dept in tree felling issue; failure in noticing it, trees worth 15 crore smuggled

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The forest department's investigation report came down heavily on the revenue department in the tree felling cutting controversy. The report mentioned that the revenue department failed in detecting and preventing tree looting in nine districts.

The chief forest officer having vigilance charge reported the matter to the forest department. The report said the trees were felled after misinterpreting the order of the revenue department. It also asserts that trees worth 15 crore were smuggled.

A total of 2,400 big trees in nine districts were felled due to misinterpretation of the order. The report said most of the trees felled were of teak and rosewood.