Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government cancelled an order granting permission to Tamil Nadu for felling 15 trees downstream of Baby Dam at Mullaperiyar reservoir, on Wednesday. The government was under attack from the opposition parties in the State Assembly for its controversial order granting permission to cut the trees.
The issue came to light after the TN Chief Minister MK Stalin sent a letter to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday thanking him for permission to cut trees near the baby dam in Mullaperiyar reservoir. Earlier, the government claimed that certain officials in Forest Department had taken the decision to issue the order without discussions with officials or ministers concerned. The Irrigation Department also followed a similar stand and continued to protect the Secretary of the Irrigation Department.
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The ambiguity that existed on the subject also changed with this document. Now it became clear that the order was issued by Bennichan Thomas on November 5 after convening a meeting in the chamber of Water Resources Secretary on November 1. Earlier, minister Roshy Augustine had claimed that the government didn’t convene any meeting related to issuing the order.
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