Senior bureaucrat Atulya Misra to probe Theni forest fire

Chennai: Senior bureaucrat Atulya Misra was on Wednesday named as the inquiry officer to probe into the circumstances that led to the death of 12 persons, mostly women, in a forest fire at Kurangani hills in Theni district of Tamil Nadu.
Misra, currently the Principal Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management, will submit the report to the Tamil Nadu government within two months, a government ordr issued on Wednesday said.

The senior officer will also conduct a detailed review of procedure in the Forest Department for regulation and permission for trekking in reserve forest areas.

The inquiry officer will also go into "role and lapses, if any," on the part of trekking organisers and forest officials. The inquiry officer has been tasked with submitting a report to the government within two months, along with recommendations to avoid such incidents in future, a March 13 Government Order said.

"The circumstances leading to this incident of forest fire, as well as trekking without proper permission from Forest Department in forest fire prone area needs to be enquired in detail," the G.O said.