The forest officers attached to Mysore Paper Mills have filed a complaint with Kargal police in Sagar taluk alleging smuggling of two loads of timber from the company’s captive plantation at Kiruvase near Byakodu in the taluk. A staff of MPM, entrusted with the job of looking after the plantation, is one among the accused in the case.
As much as 30 tonnes of acacia was allegedly cut and transported in two trucks earlier this week. The officers got to know about this incident on May 16 and filed a complaint with the police after visiting the spot. K. Manjunath, a forest watcher, appointed by the MPM, has been arrested by the police in connection with the case.
R. Raghunath, Deputy Conservator of Forests of MPM, told The Hindu on Wednesday that the police had taken up investigation of the case. “We got information about the illegal cutting and transportation of acacia worth over ₹ 1.5 lakh in two trucks. The officers have traced the trucks and handed over the local man, who had been working with the MPM, to the police”, he said.
The MPM has a captive plantation of 22,418 ha spread over Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga and Davangere districts. The State Government has leased out the land as plantation was necessary to cultivate acacia, raw material for paper production.
COMMents
SHARE