Plagued by scams, Punjab Forest Dept to buy land directly from panchayats

Rajmeet Singh

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Chandigarh, April 9

Plagued by scams in the purchase of land for afforestation, the Forest Department has now decided to buy it directly from panchayats through the Rural Development and Panchayat Department.

Afforestation drive

• With over Rs 200 crore in its kitty, the department has started an exercise to identify panchayat land that can be used for afforestation
• Divisional forest officers (DFOs) have been asked to visit villages to identify land; the minimum land requirement at one place is 25 acres

The new policy is in variance from the earlier one that allowed the Punjab State Forest Development Corporation to purchase land by using funds received from user agencies against “diversion of land” for development projects.

With over Rs 200 crore in its kitty, the department, in consultation with the Panchayat Department, has started an exercise to identify panchayat land that can be used for afforestation. After a meeting with administrative secretaries of the Forest and Panchayat departments, the latter has provided details of the land across the state.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RK Mishra said the guidelines had been approved by board members of the Forest Corporation.

He said divisional forest officers had been asked to visit villages to identify land. The minimum land requirement at one place was 25 acres.

In the past three years, two major scams in the purchase of land for afforestation have rocked the department. In 2022, 54 acres, already “locked” under Sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act, was shown as non-forest land and purchased for Rs 5.35 crore. This was 10 times the actual rate fixed by the Forest Department in 2020. It led to the registration of an FIR against the sellers and department action against forest officials.

Another tender for the purchase of 600 acres for forestry by the forest corporation in Sultanpur Lodhi was cancelled in November 2021 by former Forest Minister Sangat Singh Gilzian.

A senior government functionary said the purpose of the previous policy was to ensure clear title of land in contiguous to the already existing forest land covered under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. However, the policy was violated.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had pointed out irregularities in the utilisation of funds for land purchase.

The Principal Auditor General, Punjab, had in a report last year pointed out that during 2011-13, the corporation purchased 123 acres for afforestation.

The mutation was done in the name of the Forest Department. The company could not purchase land for the next seven years and 67 acres were purchased in 2019-20, but the plantation on this land was yet to be started.

During 2020-21, 87 acres worth Rs 14 crore was purchased, leaving Rs 27.60 crore unspent as on March 2021.