Forest dept orders 20-year payment probe in three forest divisions

Jaipur: The state forest department has set up inquiry committees to scrutinise payments for development works carried out in Alwar, Ajmer and Bikaner forest divisions over the past 20 years.The committees were constituted following directions issued on May 19 by state forest minister Sanjay Sharma ordering a probe into payments for development works in forest divisions.Sharma’s directions followed a representation by Viratnagar MLA Kuldeep Dhankhar, who sought a wider investigation into development works and payments in Alwar and other divisions across the state. Dhankhar alleged that despite a 2004 govt order barring cash payments for development works, substantial cash transactions continued in Alwar, and claimed an ongoing inquiry from 2015-16 to 2023-24 left out 2004-05 to 2014-15 “to shield certain officials.”Official correspondence shows Sharma first directed scrutiny of development-work payments in the Alwar Forest Division for 2004-05 to 2023-24 and ordered that in the first phase one territorial forest division at each divisional headquarters be selected for similar checks.The orders, issued on Wednesday by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force) Arijit Banerjee, cover payments made between 2004-05 and 2023-24.A senior official said, “Committees have been directed to submit their reports in one month. This is the first phase of the exercise. Additional forest divisions are expected to be covered in subsequent phases.”In his May 19 note, Sharma sought formation of the committee in three days and a detailed action-taken report within one month. A June 5 communication from the minister’s office, however, said the orders were not received, following which, special assistant Ashok Kumar Yogi directed the department to issue the orders and submit them for the minister’s perusal.Tapeshwar Singh, an environmental lawyer who filed a complaint before the National Green Tribunal alleging corruption in the Alwar Forest Division, said, “This move could dilute the ongoing inquiry into the alleged illegal withdrawal of nearly Rs 20 crore for advance soil works in the Alwar division during 2021-24. Two inquiry reports have already been submitted, while a third is still pending. These fresh orders risk diverting attention from the case and delaying accountability. The govt should first act on the findings of the existing inquiries and take action against the officials found responsible.”