Two forest personnel suspended for harassing tribal kendu leaf pluckers in Odisha’s Malkangiri

Malkangiri: In what could be a new low for the Forest department, two forest personnel were suspended on the charge of taking bribe and harassing tribal kendu leaf pluckers in Malkangiri district of Odisha. The accused, identified as Balimela forester Durga Prasad Nayak and Kudmulgumma forest guard Padmini Patnaik , were suspended by Jeypore Kenduleaf division authorities after a probe was carried out following allegations of corruption by the duo.

According to reports, the accused forest personnel were taking bribe on regular basis to process the financial assistance of Rs 2lakh given to families of tribal kendu leaf pluckers after the latter’s natural death. As the amount is released only after the ranger, forester and other field personnel from the division conduct an inquiry, the duo was allegedly taking bribe to the tune of Rs 30,000-Rs 40,000 from the affected tribal families and harassing them in cases of non-compliance.

In tribal dominated Malkangiri district, kendu leaf plucking is the mainstay of most of the local communities where they earn over Rs 40,000-Rs 50,000 every year from the source of livelihood. However, they alleged that the constant demand of huge bribe money from the forest personnel was becoming a huge cause of distress for them.

After allegations by the beneficiaries came to the fore, an audio clip also went viral where one of the purported accused was heard saying that the bribe money was being taken from the tribals at all levels in the Forest department. This prompted the Jeypore Kenduleaf officials to start investigation following which irregularities by Nayak and Patnaik were detected and the duo suspended.

Meanwhile, Jeypore Kenduleaf division’s counterpart in neighbouring Nabarangpur district has been given the charge to probe the case further and find out who others are involved in the illicit activity.