Chandigarh Newsline:Tuesday 30 August 2011.
Shimla Opposition Congress on Monday raked up the controversial Bamloe Infrastructure Developers’ project alleging serious violations of the Forest Conservation Act and favouritism to the promoters by the ruling BJP in Himachal Pradesh.
Amidst heated arguments between the Opposition legislator Mukesh Agnihotri and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, the government gave the project clean chit saying, “All the documents of the company are in order. No felling of the trees have been proved, and also no favours have given to the company. By sanctioning the project, the government has not committed any violation or illegality.”
The issue was raised by Agnihotri, who had earlier tabled a question in the House. Since the question could not be taken-up, he chose to lodge his protest contesting the government’s written reply stating that the project was in clear.
Though Speaker Tulsi Ram declined Agnihotri the permission to raise the issue and even ordered that “nothing should go on record’, the MLA stood firm and waved certain papers, which he claimed to have been procured through the RTI. He also quoted some names to substantiate the claim that some persons with interests in the project were to the incumbent government.
As Agnitori ignored Speaker’s repeated pleas, Dhumal said that the government was ready to order a fresh inquiry, led by Agnihotri. The CM said he doesn’t have any personal interest in the project and instead suspected Congress of having some interests.
Incidentally, most of the Congress MLAs didn’t join Agnihotri, even as Dhumal asserted that out of 37 trees at the spot, only one has been damaged.
“The company hasn’t felled any tree. Only one deodar tree was found to have been damaged for which the company will be facing action under the Municipal Corporation Act 1994”.
Earlier, the urban development minister Mohinder Singh too had rejected Agnihotri’s charges. He said a committee was formed to look into the charges to probe the allegations levelled by the Congress.
“Everything has been done as per the law,” he said expressing inability to stop the work at the project site. “If this was done the company could drag the government to the court,” the minister said.
Later, Dhumal said that some leaders of CPM had also gheraoed Principal Chief Conservator of Forests’s office and thereafter a joint inspection team visited the site. “No illicit felling of the trees was detected”.
.JPG)
.JPG)
