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 operations administered
by the corporation and Rs 46.75 lakh in the organisation’s food bills.
The
irregularities came to light in investigations carried out by the RTI Club of
Uttarakhand. The secretary of the Dehradun-based club Amar Singh Dhunta who
provided TOI a detailed dossier containing documents supporting his claims said
that through queries posed to the department through the Right To Information,
a number of anomalies came to light. “We found that UFDC has been providing
undue benefits to unauthorized vehicles who are operating with fake affidavits
and are not only being given access to sand mining operations but are also
avoiding paying tax thereby depriving state government of revenue. Due to these
irregularities, the state government through just one organisation in the
forest department has lost Rs 2.69 crore in one year which has been mentioned
in an audit report as well as a report by an investigating officer. If this is
the situation in just one year, one can imagine the extent of losses incurred
in the last 16 years since the formation of the state.”
He added that
no action was taken by the state government even though the matter was reported
to the former chief secretary in July this year. It was only after he wrote to
the Prime Minister’s office that the state government swung into action, Rungta
said.
Among the
other major irregularities that the RTI queries revealed included expenses on
food and drink incurred by the corporation between 2015 and 2017. “Of the Rs
46,75,000 spent by the corporation on food and drink in two years, Rs 17,37,000
was paid by cheque and the rest amount of Rs 29,37,000 was given by cash for
which no tax was deducted in violation of income tax regulations. In addition,
there are instances of the same bill being cleared twice resulting in the
usurping of an amount of Rs 22,402,” Rungta said. He added that many food bills
had grossly inflated quantities of food profucts. “It is surprising that in
just one day’s meeting, 21 packets of green teas (one packet has 100 bags), 8
kg tea, 8 kg coffee, 8 packets of cashews and 8 packets of almonds are shown.
Ordinarily, even in a marriage, there isn’t this kind of consumption let alone
a routine meeting. None of the bills have a list of attendees or what was
discussed.” According to the RTI response, Rs 6.87 lakh was paid by the corporation
through 314 different bills for tea and snacks while Rs 39.86 lakh was paid
through 380 bills for food and drinks which include expenses on non-vegetarian
food, liquor, live singing etc. “Leaving out holidays, there are not more than
270 or 280 working days in a year, but the corporation has made out bills for
lavish meetings in hotels on each day of the year ostensibly to entertain its
official guests. Such hospitality is not extended by the Union government to
even its special foreign visitors,” Rungta said.
The
irregularities also pertain to purchase of stationery in just two years 2015
and 2016, the corporation bought 4016 paper reams which was 10 times more than
the total number of reams bought in the 15-year period between 2000 and 2015.
Also, the auction of corporation belongings allegedly worth Rs 60 lakh lying at
the camp office in the camp office at Dehradun was done at a rockbottom price
of Rs 15,000 only the RTI reply revealed.
The managing
director of UFDC SK Lepcha and senior planning official Trilok Chand did not
respond to repeated queries made by TOI to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile,
state government spokesperson and urban development minister Madan Kaushik said
that the “government would hold an impartial enquiry into the matter for which
the CM has already issued directions.”
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