Agartala: The state government has suspended three forest department officials following illegal cutting of decade-old trees at the Kunjaban township quarter complex area in Agartala on the nights of May 15 and 16.
Following the reports of illegal cutting of trees like eucalyptus, teak and neem, etc, the Tripura High Court on May 17 registered a suo-moto case and issued a notification to the state administration.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Arindam Lodh had sought a comprehensive report on illegal cutting of 11 trees opposite to the office of Tripura Human Rights Commission (THRC) at Kunjaban area in Agartala.
However, the division bench had directed the state PWD, forest and finance departments to file a detailed report within a week.
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Accordingly, the investigation started and it was found that three officers of the state forest department were directly or indirectly involved in this act. These officers are — forester of FPU Sadar sub-division Abhijit Acharjee, range officer of Sadar sub-division Sujit Chakma and beat officer of Howrah Beat under Sadar sub-division Bimal Kumar Sharma.
The office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) on May 28 issued orders against these three officials where it mentioned that disciplinary proceedings against Abhijit Acharjee, Sujit Chakma and Bimal Kumar Sharma should be taken.
