Panel to probe TN forest fire set up

Chennai, March 14 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said it has set up a committee to probe into the death of 11 trekkers caught up in a forest fire in Kurangani Hills in Theni district on Sunday.

The probe team will be headed by Principal Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management, Atulya Misra.

The circumstances leading to this incident of forest fire, as well as trekking activity without proper permission from Forest Department in a forest fire-prone area needs to be enquired into in detail, so as to enable the government to take further action in the matter, said the Government Order.

The committee's terms of also reference include a review of the procedure established in Forest Department for regulation/permission of trekking in Reserved Forest area; role and lapses, if any, on the part of trekking organisers; role and lapses on the part of forest officials, if any; and recommendations to avoid such incidents/tragedy in forest areas shall be given by the Enquiry Officer.

The enquiry should be completed and the report be sent to the government in two months time, the order said.

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