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| J&K Forest Scam Culprits, investigators all making merry at the cost of state exchequer | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Aug 27: Erstwhile Azad's government's "single achievement", the unearthing of forest scam which created a big bang last year ended in a whimper with prosecutors and culprits receiving different dispensations under the new regime.
The man notably mentioned in the report R.D. Tiwari is vying to take over as Principal Chief Conservator Forest (PCCF) Jammu and Kashmir. It is important to mention here that action taken report (ATR) of the Kundal Committee Probe maintains that Tiwari has serious charges against him in 13 cases.
Moreover, despite recommendations of the probe panel to debar Tiwari from holding positions which have financial involvements and are independent in nature, he is heading SFRI and has also been given the grade of Additional Principal Chief Conservator OF Forest (APCCF). Presently, he is serving as Director State Forest Research Institute (SFRI) Jammu, a post which is autonomous in functioning and has financial involvements amounting to several lakhs of rupees.
Among the 13 cases where Tiwari's involvement has surfaced, 4 are being probed by the State Vigilance Organisation (SVO), 3 by Director Audit and Inspection, 2 by Crime Branch, 2 by independent committee's and a case was to be simultaneously investigated by the research scholars of the two Universities at Jammu and Srinagar respectively. Results of these cases continue to remain a mystery.
Among the serving officers, the only exclusion appears to be former Managing Director of State Forest Corporation Aijaz Ahmed Bhat who was projected as villain of the piece seemingly for political reasons. Another officer whose head was put on the chopping block by the Kundal Panel was Ghulam Hassan Marazi.
The panel recommended his dismissal from the service. Marazi put up a brave face and filed a petition in the state High Court alleging he was being targetted by the then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for opposing the 'undue' demands of his brothers who were forest contractors. Court dismissed the petition but with a significant observation that government cannot impose any penalty on Marazi on the basis of an enquiry report.
The court directions earned a safe exit for Marazi who retired a few months later. Bhat on the contrary has maintained a complete silence since the day his name figured in the scam. However, it has been reliably learnt that he has submitted some official documents to the state government which bear testimony to the fact that he had neither concealed his identity nor faked his name while serving as an officer in the state forest department.
Sources said that since the disclosure could have political connotations for the three month old NC-Congress coalition government, the same is being kept a top secret. Interestingly, all other officers whose name surfaced in the Kundal Panel Probe have managed good postings for themselves and others are likely to be elevated immediately after the modal code of conduct gets lifted.
Despite Chief Minister issuing a circular barring officers working outside the civil secretariat from visiting the secretariat for transfers and postings, officials in the forest secretariat maintain that some of the IFS officers who are in anticipation of prize postings are seen sipping cups of coffee and tea with other senior officers of the forest department.
"Barring a few, all other officers have been rehabilitated which means job description has been changed while they continue to be part of the forest department. How could one expect that they would not have influenced the probe by now," said an officer of the forest secretariat on the conditions of anonymity. |
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