MoEF crackdown on corrupt babus for green nods

NEW DELHI: Here are cases of corruption at the highest level in handing out forest clearances. An inspector-general of forests, C D Singh, has been transferred out of the Forest Advisory Committee and a vigilance inquiry instituted against him and two other forest officials for allegedly fudging documents to clear a hydroelectric project in Himachal Pradesh.

In another case, a chief conservator of forests, A K Raina, posted in the Bhopal regional office, against whom a whistleblower officer had provided evidence of corruption, has been transferred , though officially these allegations have not been cited to transfer him.

Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan took action against Singh just days before the three non-official members on board the FAC wrote to her complaining about corruption and the fudging of documents in the clearance process.

Sources in the ministry said it was found that on C D Singh's behest, two of his subordinates had given an undated forest clearance order in favour of a private company. The two subordinates informed the minister when inquiries began that Singh used the file noting of the minister from one hydroelectric project case to justify giving a favourable one to another. They then passed an undated order on the ministry file. The private company got the order in their hand four days before the ministry file reflected such an order had been made.

The orders are only meant to be given to the state government but in this case the private company informed the state that it had secured the clearance.

Sources said another case of corruption had also come before the minister where the official had suppressed vital information from Jharkhand government to hold back clearance to one particular mining company while allowing others to operate despite the minister's order to cancel the other mining companies that were operating in the same core of the Elephant Tiger Reserve.

The ministry also acted four months after a complaint was received against A K Raina, chief conservator of forests in the ministry's regional office at Bhopal. The ministry has transferred Raina after a whistleblower in the regional office sent documentary proof of several cases where Raina had hidden information and circumvented rules to recommend forest clearances to the ministry on several occasions. No investigations have yet been launched against Raina