Keralam Forest Minister, former IFS officer spar over Chinnakkanal issue

Forest Minister Shibu Baby John attributes the human-elephant conflict in Chinnakkanal to a “man-made” problem and cites retired Indian Forest Service officer Prakriti Srivastava’s recommendation as the basis for settling people in the 301 Colony.

A day after Keralam Forest Minister Shibu Baby John attributed the human-elephant conflict in Chinnakkanal to a “man-made” problem and cited retired Indian Forest Service officer Prakriti Srivastava’s recommendation as the basis for settling people in the 301 Colony, the issue triggered a rare on-stage exchange on Tuesday (October 6, 2026), when the former forest officer directly disputed the Minister’s interpretation of official records while both were sharing the dais at a programme in Thiruvananthapuram.

At the Wildlife Week conclave organised by the Coexistence Collective, Mr. John reiterated his contention that the Chinnakkanal settlement had its origins in a proposal made by Ms. Srivastava, the then Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Munnar, and referred to a letter she had written to the Conservator of Forests, High Range Circle, in 2002

Ms. Srivastava, who was on the same stage, objected to his remarks, and said that the letter was being cited without its context and urged the Minister to examine the entire sequence of events before commenting on the issue.