Bennichan Thomas to be new head of Forest Department

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bennichan Thomas, who is accused in the tree felling case, will become the new head of the forest department. Keshavan, the current head of the forest department, will retire on the 30th of this month. It was in this context that Bennichan Thomas was recommended by the Search Committee.

The cabinet approved the appointment recommendation after Bennichan got a clean chit in the tree felling case. The new head of the forest department is selected by a committee consisting of the chief secretary, the head of the forest, the forest secretary, the central representative and the head of the forest in another state.

Bennichan Thomas is serving as the Chief Wildlife Warden at the Forest Department headquarters. The names of PCCFs Ganga Singh, Jayaprasad, Prakriti Srivastava and Noel Thomas also appeared before the committee.