Forests Minister Shibu Baby John alleges irregularities, high-level corruption in Muttil tree-felling case

Alleging massive irregularities and high-level corruption in the controversial Muttil tree-felling case, Forests Minister Shibu Baby John on Saturday said that the incident goes far beyond a simple case of unauthorised tree felling and requires a thorough probe into the underlying conspiracy.

Addressing the media in Kollam, the Minister pointed out that the government order issued by senior bureaucrat A. Jayathilak will be investigated, noting that widespread looting of timber took place under the guise of the directive. “The controversial order was eventually revoked, but the cancellation was officially published only after a delay of 75 days. Taking advantage of this 75-day window, a vast majority of the trees were cut down and transported,” he said.

The Minister assured that although the full details are still emerging based on limited initial information, the government is committed to taking a firm stance and conducting a comprehensive examination into every aspect of the scam to uncover those who engineered the operation.

Meanwhile, Mr. John also responded to recent remarks made by MP Adoor Prakash criticising the United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership. Stating that he was unaware of the specific context in which Mr. Prakash made the remark, the Minister said that he stands by the position previously articulated by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal on the matter.