Team of 33 State Forest Officials inquire into the massive money bungling at Muniguda Forest Range
Dr.Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Rayagada, November 23: A team of thirty-three forest officials from different forest divisions including eleven from Malkangiri, Nabarangapur, Jeypore and Koraput led by one Assistant Conservator of Forests(ACF) has arrived at Muniguda Forest Range office to conduct an inquiry on massive corruption made by Sri Prasanna Mishra, Ex-Forest Ranger of Muniguda range presently posted at Regional Chief Conservator of Forests(RCCF), Jeypore.
By the direction from Office of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests(PCCF), Bhubaneswar vide memo no-21699 dated 6-11-2023, a team of officers from State Forest Headquarters are conducting an inquiry into the complaint dated 15-6-2022 passed in the Lokayukta Case no-LY-300/2023. Rabindra Patakhandal, a member of TDP Associates filed the said complain before PCCF against sheer irregularities made by Prasanna Mishra. On the basis of the complain, the Forest Flying Squad considered to be the internal vigilance team from Bramhapur, Ganjam led by Sri Nilendra Narayan Singh Dalapati conducted the raid starting from 7-9-2022. Accordingly, Dalapati sought cooperation from Patakhandal, an RTI activist and a senior scribe & other members of TDP Associate, who eventually accompanied the squad to different spots.
As the inquiry report was not shared by PCCF even after seeking it through RTI Act, Rabindra filed a case before Odisha Lokayukta on 23-6-23 leveling a corruption charges amounting Rs.37982136 in 28 spots. Constitution of Vana Sangrakhyana samiti(VSS) was in pen & paper as no one knew about it. Meeting resolutions were forged with forged signatures and conducted at whims & fancies of Forester, who is the member secretary. The VSS was used to swindle crores of money showing several expenditure heads like seedling raising, pit digging, fertiliser, fencing, etc. Transparency boards are not put up in prominent places. Plantation was done by people on their own & was shown as of forest deptt. 90% of seedlings were wasted. Huge corruption was done in procurement of Soil, Farm Yard Manure(FYM) and Vermicompost. In many instances, muster rolls were not maintained for payment to labourers. No tour plan of Ranger and DFO was done in monitoring the plantation. Incentive/Honorarium of watchers was misappropriated.
During the appearance before Lokayukta, Dalapati said that the inquiry was completed only in four plantation areas out of 28 spots as per the complaint of TDP Associates. Because of staff shortage & Dalapati’s transfer order, the inquiry for the balance 24 project sites are yet to be conducted. Lokayukta has ordered Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), at Bhubaneswar to get the inquiry done within a reasonable period exclusively by another officer and submit the report by 26.12.2023, ie, the next date of hearing.
“According to the statement of Dalapati before Lokayukta, the inquiry conducted by a team of four members including him, which started on 8-9-2022, was completed in 4 project sites/spots by 16-10-23. So, this took almost 13 months. As Lokayukta has ordered PCCF to appear before it with the completed report by 26-12-2023, so, this hurry burry action by the top babus of forest deptt. Though a 33-member team is inquiring into the massive irregularities, completion of the inquiry for 24 project sites in the next month seems to hush up the matter. As, this time, no cooperation was sought from the complainants during site visits by the inquiry team, there is every chance that the final reports will be a biased one” said Rasmi Ranjan Dora, member of TDP Associates.
