The Forest department has spent ₹3.31 crore on various eco-restoration projects in Idukki over the past decade, according to a Right to Information Act (RTI) document.
The department has spent over ₹9 crore to prevent man-animal conflicts in the district since 2016. The initiatives were unsuccessful, and most of the money had been spent without proper study, shows the RTI reply secured by Idukki District Congress Committee (DCC) general secretary Bijo Mani.
“The Forest department spends crores of rupees every year on paddy maintenance, trek paths, bush clearance, fire line clearing works and so on. Money has also been spent on eco-restoration projects for renovation of ponds and water and soil conservation. The repeated human-wild animal conflicts show that the eco-restoration projects had been implemented without proper study,” said Mr. Mani.
“The department has now started a project to dry eucalyptus and trees which were earlier planted inside the forests. In 2021 and 2022, an amount of ₹40.6 lakh was spent on a project aimed at drying exotic species of trees under the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) at Thekkady,” said Mr. Mani. The trees are dried as part of their removal instead of felling them.
“The RTI reply showed that there were no proper data or audits for the eco-restoration projects implemented,” he said.
Mr. Mani demanded that the government conduct a detailed inquiry into the Forest department implementing eco-restoration and human-animal conflict mitigation projects in Idukki.
