Sri.Surjith M.K, Range Forest Officer, Nelliyampathy won the Chief ...

Name : SURJITH.M.KDesignation : RANGE FOREST OFFICERPresent Station : NELLIYAMPATHY RANGEDate of Birth : 29.06.1982Date of Entry Service : 17.06.2008CITATION FOR THE CHIEF MINISTER'S FOREST MEDALSri. Surjith. M.K. is awarded Chief Ministers Forest Medal for the year 2012 in the category ofRange Forest Officer in recognition of his outstanding contribution in the following fieldsProtection of forest land and tree growtha) Sri. Surjth collected details regarding illegal transfer of estates in violation of ForestConservation Act 1980, which are part of Nelliyampathy Reserve Forest.b) Sri. Surjith collected details regarding the pledging of estates and securing loans from Banks inviolation of lease conditions, Kerala Land Assignment Rules, 1964 and Forest ConservationAct, 1980.c) Sri. Sujith detected the home stay facilities in the estates which are in violation of ForestConservation Act.The proposals to terminate the lease of estates have been send to Government based on theabove findings. Lease of Mira Flores estate has been terminated and resumed to Governmenton 27.06.2011 and lease of Rajakkad and Monk Wood estates have been terminated on28.03.2012 and that of Cherunelly estate has been terminated on 08.06.2012. Termination ofother estates are in progress.d) Termination of lease of above estates have resulted in lessees filing 27 litigations before theHon'ble High Court, Sub Court, Palakkad and Supreme Court of India. Sri.Surjith hasprovided excellent assistance to his superior officers in the conduct of cases by preparing draftstatement of facts, attending courts and assisting Government Pleaders and collecting valuablerecords from Banks, Revenue and Registration Offices and Archives.e) He evicted 264 acres of encroachment from vested forests in Kollengode Range while holdingadditional charge of the Range.f) He collected details required to fix the lease rent of estates in Nelliyampathy under the KeralaGrants and Leases (Modification of Rights) Act, 1980 and Rules there under, whereby leaserent of 15 estates having 1439.23 Ha. has been revised from Rs. 5/acres to Rs. 1300/Ha. Thishas resulted in the appreciable increase of revenue to Government.g) Sri Surjith has detected encroachment of 5 resorts in Puliyan Mala covering 53 cents in theleased out Chandramala Estate in Nelliyampathy Reserve.

h) He has detected that 252.18 acres in Athanad and 35.04 acres in Kanjiramkode are still part ofReserve Forest which have been omitted from the Working Plan. Illegal quarry operation inAthanad has been stopped.Protection of Wildlifea) He actively participated in the enquiry and seizure of elephant tusks from Pollachi involved inOR 17/2009 of Kollengode Range.b) He seized three country made guns involved in OR.01/2011 & 03/2012.Personal Risks takena) He is a good trekker and takes his subordinates to Forests as part of extensive patrolling.Surjith was lost in the wilderness for two days with his team while patrolling to detect ganjacultivation. They lost the track on 25.7.2010 after their night halt at Kunjiarpathy on 24.7.2010.They wandered through the wilds of Karappara and Padukutty for a day and a night withoutfood and water. It was his bold leadership which put his team members in good spirit andfound its way out on 26.7.2010 when they met with a search party set out for them atPadukutty.b) Sri. Surjith had requested for a transfer to his home District of Kannur to be near to hismother, who is seriously ill. He has readily withdrawn his application for transfer when he wasrequested to remain in Nelliyampathy until the cases involving termination of lease on the filesof Hon'ble Court are disposed. This is a great sacrifice indeed.Developmental WorksHe has raised 30 ha teak plantation at Meenchady in 2009 after felling 1946 TP Meenchady.Even though the area is infested with invasive weeds such as michenia, eupatorium, lantana andMimosa intia, the plantation has come up well due to his close monitoring. He had managed allthe resumed estates in Nelliyampathy and then handed over to KFDC.Forest Department has already taken efforts to terminate the lease of 36 estates over an extentof 4851 acres in Nelliyampathy. Out of which 5 estates over an extent of 1343 acres has alreadybeen resumed and lease of 3 estates having 798 acres has been terminated. Rest are at variousstages of termination. The efforts of Sri.Surjith M.K in this regard have been recognized byawarding Chief Ministers Forest Medal for 2012. He is the sole medal winner for this year inthe category of Range Forest Officer in Kerala Forest Department.