THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Forest Department has decided to scrap the Forest Information Bureau (FIB) after detecting serious lapses in the functioning of the system.Forest Minister K B Ganesh Kumar made a surprise visit to the FIB and found that the periodicals published by the department were dumped in the godowns. It was also decided to revamp the whole department after consultation with agencies in this field.Ganesh Kumar told Express that the employees serving at the FIB would be redeployed. It was found that the Bureau was not functioning according to the guidelines to serve the public.“On inspection, around 3,000 books containing information on Salim Ali were found abandoned in the godown. The diary and calendar of the Forest Department which was printed during 2011 and even this year were not distributed causing huge loss to the department,” the Minister said. Aranyam, the monthly magazine of Forest Information Bureau (FIB), which provides information on forest preservation and other activities, will also be stopped. The whole system and the magazine will be revamped in two months.There are plans to include more articles written by the students who have participated in nature camps. Apart from the experience of students, forest officials and nature photographers will also have the chance to share their views in the magazine.The Minister also said that after he assumed charge there were no attempts from the FIB to propagate the activities of the department.Two books on Silent Valley, published by the FIB, were also in the list of the publications being dumped.According to Aranyam editor, C Rajendran, who is also the director of FIB, the announcement was made by the Minister at a meeting. However, no official communication was received in this regard and the reason to stop the publication was not known. Aranyam was brought out as a tri-monthly magazine and after getting popularity it was made a monthly two years ago.Now 3,500 copies are printed every month and circulated to schools, forest clubs, bureaucrats and politicians. “The yearly subscription of the magazine is very low. It is given to schools free of cost as part of the efforts to keep the young generation updated about the need for forest preservation,” sources said.Ironically, the decision to scarp the FIB was taken when the Forest Department was planning to create more awareness on forest preservation. It was also decided to distribute saplings through the nature clubs in schools this year, which will torpedo the idea if the information bureau will not function soon.
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