Tree felling executed under cover of Covid: Chennithala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The illegal tree felling is one of the organised and planned thefts the LDF government successfully executed under the cover of Covid, said former Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala. The intervention of Opposition had busted illegal acts like deep-sea fishing deal, Sprinklr deal and Pampa river sand deal, while the government successfully executed the tree felling under the cover of Covid and more such dealings executed by the government would come to light only later, he said. 

“There was a conspiracy and planning behind the illegal tree felling and the justification of CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran was shocking. By admitting that the decision to allow tree felling was political, he openly admitted the role of the political leadership in the deal,” he said. The order, after threatening upright officials, cannot be issued without the consent of the political leadership. 

The present investigation being carried out by the state agency cannot bring the conspiracy behind the episode. Only a judicial panel or High Court-appointed panel is required to probe the entire gamut of cases, he said.