தனியார் மர வியாபாரிகளுடன் ‘சிண்டிகேட்’ அமைத்து குறைந்த விலைக்கு'சில்வர் ஓக்’மரங்களை விற்க அமைச்சர் சீனிவாசன் முயற்சிப்பது கண்டனத்திற்குரியது

DMK working president M.K. Stalin condemned state Forest Minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan on August 4, 2017, for attempting to auction valuable silver oak timber from government plantations at artificially depressed prices. Stalin alleged that high-level department officials had colluded with private timber traders to form an illicit syndicate, undervaluing precious forest wealth to generate illicit personal kickbacks. The move threatened substantial financial revenue loss to the state exchequer while endangering the ecological balance of hill regions.

Stalin pointed out that silver oak trees grown across state-owned plantations provide essential shade canopy for tea bushes and stabilize fragile mountain slopes against landslides in the Western Ghats. Attempting to clear-fell mature trees under the pretext of revenue generation while fixing prices far below prevailing market valuations constituted blatant corruption. The opposition leader emphasized that state natural resources belong to the public and cannot be auctioned off illicitly.

The DMK leader demanded an immediate halt to all timber auctions and called for a transparent judicial inquiry into the syndicate's activities. Stalin vowed to defend state forest wealth, ecological reserves, and public resources from corrupt exploitation and administrative plunder.