Maharashtra Forest Department admits 76 Irrigation projects stuck in Vidarbha

NAGPUR: The PIL on massive irrigation scam of Rs72,000 crore in Vidarbha took an interesting turn when Maharashtra Forest Department admitted that as many as 76 out of 90 irrigation projects of the region were stuck with them for formalities. It, however, blamed Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) for pendency of 58 projects on account of non-compliance and for want of submission of complete proposals as per guidelines of union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF).

A division bench of justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Atul Chandurkar then adjourned the cases for final hearing to be conducted from September 16. The forest department's reply came after the court granted last chance to it during last hearing on July 10 when petitioner's counsel Srikant Khandalkar pointed out that most irrigation projects were stalled due to its failure to grant clearance and even VIDC had acknowledged it.

The affidavit by additional principal chief conservator for forest (PCCF) and nodal officer for the state Suresh Gairola informed that out of 90 proposals that came to them for clearance under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, MoEF finally approved 10, rejected four and granted in-principle approval to another four. Two were sent back to the state, two were pending with MoEF for first stage approval and one was with chief conservator for processing.

He informed that the State Irrigation Department had submitted various proposals to Forest Department for approval of non-forestry use of forest land for Gosikhurd project and its canals, and those four proposals were approved by the MoEF.

Gairola said FCA provided a regulatory mechanism for diversion of forest land for non-forestry use, as deforestation had adverse consequences on human beings. Prior approval of MoEF was necessary for any de-reservation of forest land and the user agency is required to submit a comprehensive proposal through the state government. The proposals are then scrutinized and processed by deputy and chief conservators before being submitted to PCCF office in Nagpur. Those involving forest area of up to five hectares are decided by the MoEF regional office in Bhopal and up to 40 hectares in consultation with MoEF head office in Delhi.

Gairola added that regular and periodic reviews regarding processing, submission and compliance were conducted by the department and more frequently for projects in Vidarbha region. He concluded by demanding dismissal of PILs filed by Jan Manch and social workers - Mohan Karemore, Amit Khot and Bharti Dabhadkar.

Jan Manch counsel Anil Kilor informed that two similar PIL on irrigation scam filed in the principal bench of the high court in Mumbai, including one by Praveen Wategaonkar, were dismissed at preliminary stages. Wategaonkar questioned the validity of Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the scam.

Alleging massive corruption and mismanagement in all irrigation projects in Vidarbha, including that of Gosikhurd, Jan Manch had demanded a judicial probe or CBI enquiry into the affairs. The NGO contended that the cost of 38 irrigation projects coming under VIDC had risen dramatically by Rs20,000 crore in just seven months in 2009 to Rs26,722 crores. It also claimed that among them, 30 projects were granted quick approval in four days and their cost was revised later.