Oppn slams govt on forest scam

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 14

Opposition parties today hit out at the state government for turning a blind eye to the “siphoning off” of Rs6 crore in the name of afforestation, and demanded an inquiry into the matter.

The Tribune on Thursday reported that not a single pit was dug up nor a single sapling planted even as Rs6 crore was sanctioned from September to November for the purpose.

Leader of the Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala said, “The Manohar Lal Khattar government pretends to be an honest one, but almost all ministers and MLAs of the ruling party are neck deep in corruption.”

He cited examples of a scam in the purchase of “dal” under the dal-roti scheme of the state government, mining of minerals and purchase of electricity equipment.

The INLD leader demanded an investigation from an independent agency, as the State Vigilance Bureau (SVB), he said, was not expected to conduct a fair probe.

Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Leader Kiran Choudhry said, “No officer can indulge in corruption unless they have the patronage of the political leadership. The manner in which a whistleblower officer and two others were shifted for seeking details of bogus payments showed that the political leadership was involved in the scam.”

She alleged the BJP government had no concern for forests and environment and it was the reason that the state had the second lowest forest cover in the country after Punjab.

As per the Forest Survey of India’s 2015 report, Haryana has a forest cover of 3.58 per cent, the CLP leader said.