Times of India: Dehradun: Friday, December 01, 2017.
An RTI query
into the expenses incurred by the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation
(UFDC) in a two-year period between 2015 and 2017 has revealed gross
irregularities to the tune of Rs 2.69 crore in mining and Rs 46.75 lakh in food
bills
The secretary
of Right To Information(RTI)Club of Uttarakhand, Amar Singh Dhunta claimed that
through queries posed to the department, the massive scale of irregularities
was highlighted. This involved providing undue benefits to firms with
unregistered vehicles and issuing of fake affidavit by the corporation for sand
mining across the state. What was most striking, Dhunta said, was that there
were irregularities of almost Rs 46.75 lakh in food bills in the three-year
period.
While
expressing resentment for no action taken by the state government since he
reported this matter to former chief secretary in July this year, he said he
has also written to Prime Minister office which has pressed the state
government for action.
Managing
director of UFDC, SK Lepcha and planning official Trilok Chand did not respond
to TOI's queries made on phone and email on this matter.
Meanwhile, state
government spokesperson and urban development minister Madan Kaushik said that
the state govt would hold an impartial enquiry into the matter for which the
Chief minister has already issued directions.
Dhunta who
provided copies of all the related documents and bills to support his
allegations to TOI said, " UFDC provided undue benefit to the unauthorized
vehicles with fake affidavits to not only access to sand mining but also of
avoiding tax to income tax department and depriving state government of
revenue. The audit report stipulates that in a period of last one year, the
forest department had borne loss of Rs 2.69 crore due to UFDC and, it is easy
to decipher the extent of losses incurred in last 16 years of formation of the
state." He said, income tax department has also asked for clarification
from UFDC which the latter has been evading.
The
irregularities reported also entails same feature in stationary purchase and
auction of corporation belongings allegedly worth Rs 60 lakh at bottom price of
Rs 15,000 (fifteen thousand) . With regard to inflated food bills costing Rs 46
lakh since 2015, Rs six lakh have been shown spent on tea-biscuit and Rs 39.86
lakh on payment to hotels through 380 bills which include non-vegetarian food,
liquor, live singing etc.
"Leaving
out holidays, there are not more than 280 working days, so even if corporation
held meetings in hotels on each day, 380 bills on different days outweighs
working day, " he said. Several bills were paid twice, wrongly interpreted
, not matched with the cost of product , or attached with wrong slips. while Rs
six lakh was shown on purchase of Diwali gift, for which there is no
explanation including cost of the items and to whom they were given to by the
department.
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