Ongole: Minister for forests Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy on Monday alleged that some YSR Congress leaders are maintaining links with red sander smugglers and going to jails to meet them.
He warned of stern action against red sander smugglers and said their properties may be seized. Addressing a press conference in Ongole city today, he said that the government will fix the date for auctioning the red sander logs very soon. He said that it has taken steps to solve the legal problems to auction red sanders.
The minister said that there is a nexus between some officials and red sander smugglers. “The government has suspended two DSPs so far,” he said and warned that the government will register cases under the P. D. Act against forest officials with links with red sander smugglers.
He said that the Chief Minister has ordered step-ped up vigilance in forests to check red sander smuggling. Replying to a question, he said the forest department has installed CC cameras to step up vigilance in the forest to curb smuggling. He said that traders are coming forward to buy red sander logs.
