Idukki: Eucalyptus (grandis) trees have been felled in flagrant violation of norms on nearly 100 acres near the 35- sq km Kurinjimala wildlife sanctuary at Vattavada in Idukki in the last six months, pointing to the Forest Department's lapses in protecting the pristine kurinji habitat.
A TV channel showed visuals of stumps left by the illegal logging. Additional Chief Secretary P K Mohanty told DC logging was not allowed anywhere near the kurniji sanctuary.
DC has sourced mobile grabs of logs stacked at the site. Sources said poachers had set ablaze the undergrowth, scorching the evidence of felling but in the process destroying kurinji plants.
According to sources, lorry-loads of the exotic eucalyptus grandis, estimated in crores of rupees, have been spirited out to Tamil Nadu from the sanctuary, entirely located on Kerala soil. The sanctuary, notified in 2006, aims at conserving the ecosystem at an altitude of 6,000 feet, which harbours multifarious flora and fauna.
Sources said the high ranges where the illegal logging took place were surrounded by check-posts of different Government agencies on either side of the border, making it difficult for poachers to smuggle logs without official connivance.
The once-in-12-year abloom neelakurinji, a shrub, is endemic to the upper ranges. Large stretches of plants have such tight grip on the loose soil, preventing erosion and nourishing perennial streams that flow into Amaravati, a tributary of Cauvery River.
Kurinji sanctuary is contiguous to the cluster of sholas that include Pampadum national park and on the side of the border are the Palani hills.
R Mohan, president of Munnar Environment and Wildlife Society, said he would have welcome the felling of water-guzzling eucalyptus varieties had it been legal.
“But this is illegal. But condoning illegal-felling in sanctuaries is akin to sanctioning forest plunder. But now that the place has been cleared, the Forest Department should launch restoration measures urgently”, he said.
Says Raj Kumar, nature activist and co-founder of the Save Kurinji Campaign Council: "Kurinji hills are integral to the upkeep of the human habitat, apart from conserving the shola ecosystem. One species of kurinjis is expected to flower next year and other in 2018”
