DFO plants carcasses:Affadavit

[Guest guest]

 

On Sun, 20/1/08, cape india <capeindia1 wrote:

 

cape india <capeindia1

Fwd: DFO implantated sambhar carcasses: Affadavit

Sunday, 20 January, 2008, 12:03 PM

 

 

 

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Lucky Lodha <lucky.lodha

DFO implantated sambhar carcasses: Affadavit

capeindia1

 

 

Forest contractor spills beans

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

 

Ropar, January 19

Officials of the Forest Department have misused the funds meant for

afforestation under a Japan Bank-aided scheme during the previous Congress

regime.

 

A forest contractor, Alfdeen, in whose name payments were made through cheques,

has spilled the beans. In an affidavit submitted before the inquiry officer, a

copy of which is available with The Tribune, Alfdeen has stated that he used to

work in Mehengrowal, Kapat and Arniwal forest ranges in Shivalik Hills as a

forest contractor.

 

The then forest officials, who were in charge of the area, including former DFO,

Hoshiarpur, R.R. Kakkar and range officers Ashok Kalia and Ram Lal, used to

issue cheques in his name for works carried out in forest areas. He would get

the cheques encashed and handover the money to them.

 

Inquiry officer and conservator, research and technology, Harsh Kumar is holding

an inquiry into the case, which had been marked by Chief Minister Parkash Singh

Badal to him.

 

Harsh said the inquiry had indicated misuse of forest funds. As per guidelines

of the project, the DFO could not issue contracts worth more than Rs 1 lakh. It

has come to light that works were split illegally to keep their limit less than

Rs 1 lakh, thus enabling the DFO to allot works on contract instead of involving

locals as labour.

 

He said the affidavit of the former contractor, in whose name maximum cheques

were issued, has details of how the funds were misutilised. I would be

submitting the report to the Chief Minister very soon, Harsh said.

 

Sources said certain higher officials of the department could face action for

failing to check the misutilisation of the funds.

 

The contractor has revealed the forest officials had conspired to implicate

former wildlife warden Gunraj Singh in a false poaching case as he raised his

voice against the bungling. He has alleged that forest officials R.R. Kakkar,

Paramjit Singh and Kulraj Singh had asked him to dump parts of a dead Sambar's

body at the farm of Gunraj at Hoshiarpur. When I refused, they hired a labourer

to get the job done.

 

A raid at the farmhouse of Gunraj was conducted by forest officials at a time

when he, along with Sukhdeep Singh Bajwa, were helping the district authorities

of Hoshiarpur in an inquiry into the alleged illegal felling of trees in the

Mehengrowal forest range.

 

The Tribune had highlighted large-scale misuse of forest funds under the Japan

Bank-aided project. It has been planned to bring 15 per cent area of the state

under green cover. However, despite the fact that crores of rupees have been

spent under the project, the forest cover in state is just 3.2 per cent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080120/punjab1.htm#4

 

 

--

for Care of