Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Settling scores

Last month, when the Social Forestry Department filed a case against the Public Works Department (PWD) for felling four trees for road widening works, city residents were relieved that they had a saviour to protect the city's dwindling green cover. Little did they realise that the department was all the while busy clearing the undergrowth of forests in the Kallar valley to bring large areas under monoculture plantation.

Nature-lovers who initially rejoiced over the move to stay the cutting of avenue trees, are wondering whether they had erred in judgement. "Shedding tears over four trees while destroying acres of greenery is nothing but an attempt to hoodwink the public. It is the height of hypocrisy", says an official associated with the roads project.

He said the Social Forestry Department was trying to settle scores with the PWD for being left out of the compensatory arboriculture programme.

PWD officials said the Forest Department was kept out of the programme to ensure appropriate selection of species. "In any case, though they have mended their approach, the Social Forestry Department is still known for propagation of the acacia, an environment-unfriendly species", says a project manager. Forest officials defend their action, saying that they were only carrying out their responsibility to protect the avenue trees.

The police, however, are prone to believe that the dispute between the two departments is part of an ego clash.

T. Nandakumar

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