The Forest Department has suspended four forest officials – a ranger, two foresters and one forest guard – in connection with felling of large number of eucalyptus trees in Tiger Shola Reserve Forests near Prakasapuram on Kodaikanal hill recently, according to sources in the Forest Department here on Thursday.
The names of the suspended staff were given as Ranger Sakthivel, Foresters Arivazhagan and Palanisamy and forest guard Chinnasamy.
Acting on a complaint lodged by a forest guard, the department’s top officers initiated action against them.
A special team that inspected the spot found felling of hundreds of eucalyptus trees within the reserve forest area near Prakasapuram with the connivance of these forest officials.
The trees were allegedly felled and smuggled using the orders issued for cutting trees in patta land. After the spot inspection, the special team found that those trees were within the reserve forest area. The felling had been going on for a long time.
Some officials in the lower ranks did not bring the matter to the knowledge of district level officers.