The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) recently executed a comprehensive statewide operation, bringing to light significant corruption within numerous forest range offices. This extensive probe uncovered substantial evidence indicating that officials had illegally amassed over ₹1.07 crore through bribes and kickbacks from various contractors.
Dubbed ‘Operation Vanaraksha,’ this meticulously planned crackdown took place concurrently across 71 forest range offices throughout Kerala on a single Saturday.
These inspections exposed a deeply rooted and systematic network of corruption between forest officers and contractors. For the past five years, major projects such as road construction, check-dam and culvert building, reservoir fencing, soil conservation programs, and tribal settlement development have been plagued by widespread financial misconduct.
Inflated bills
Investigators discovered a pattern of drastically inflated bills, where costs were artificially boosted far beyond the actual work done. Substandard projects were frequently approved as fully completed, and shockingly, some initiatives were entirely abandoned even after contractors received their full payments. The Vigilance inquiry further revealed that timber sales records were deliberately falsified in numerous offices to hide illicit activities.
During the raids, officials directly seized ₹11,500 in cash from officers. More significantly, they uncovered documents detailing ‘benami’ (proxy) contracts and compelling evidence of bribe money being channeled through various digital means, including online transfers, UPI transactions, and accounts belonging to relatives and intermediaries.
Transferred
A detailed inspection at the Vallakkadavu range forest office in Idukki district exposed a contractor’s illicit transfers totaling ₹72.8 lakh to the range forest officer and their relatives between June and September. Furthermore, an additional ₹1.36 lakh was allegedly sent by the same contractor to an establishment in Edappally, purportedly on the officer’s instructions. Similarly, at the Vattavada range forest office, investigators found that a contractor had reportedly transferred ₹31.08 lakh into bank accounts belonging to the range forest officer, their family members, and suspected intermediaries.
In a separate incident, Vigilance officers confiscated ₹8,500 directly from an official’s desk at the Edavanna range forest office in Malappuram. The range forest officer there was also implicated in receiving ₹14,500 via UPI payments from contractors. Additionally, ₹2,900 in undeclared cash was discovered at the Karulai range forest office.
Found drunk
During the operation at the Parottukonam forest range office in Thiruvananthapuram, an office driver was found on duty under the influence of alcohol. Local police were promptly summoned to address this serious lapse, according to official sources.
The VACB investigation also brought to light irregularities concerning compensation payments for wild animal attacks. It was discovered that in numerous offices, these compensations were approved and disbursed even when adequate medical documentation to support the claims was missing.