NH project contractor, 2 others booked

Cormorants in large numbers were killed after nesting tree was cut

The Forest department on Friday booked three persons under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 a day after mindless tree-felling for national highway (NH) development claimed the lives of scores of cormorants and hatchlings in Malappuram.

The residents of V.K. Padi in Tirurangadi stood witness to heart wrenching scenes of birds crushed under a tamarind tree that was cut using an earthmover on Thursday.

All cormorant species are protected under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Several herons and unhatched eggs were also among the casualties, official sources said.

Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran, who condemned the cruelty, said the contractor felled the tree without the prerequisite permission. Moreover, the department had issued general instructions to fell trees only after ensuring that the nesting birds flew away, he added.

Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas sought a report from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) about the incident. He also demanded stringent action against the contractor.

Nilambur (North) Divisional Forest Officer T. Aswin Kumar, who is monitoring the probe into the incident, said the contractor, driver of the earthmover, and a worker who chopped down the tree were taken into custody. The vehicle and the equipment used to fell the tree were also seized.

Sources said the felled tree was beyond the area permitted by the social forestry wing for national highway development.

Against the backdrop of the incident, conservation biologists have called for factoring in the breeding season of birds while planning infrastructure development projects.

P.O. Nameer, Professor (Wildlife) and Dean, College of Climate Change and Environmental Science, Kerala Agricultural University, said the breeding season of water birds such as cormorants coincided with the monsoon. However, the increasing prevalence of erratic monsoons could push the onset of the breeding period to July and could extend to December.

“Under such circumstances, authorities should ideally plan projects accordingly to ensure trees are felled prior to the season. Trees that are identified to be removed could also be covered using nets to prompt such birds to find other ecosystems to breed,” he said.