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Journalism of Courage
The only peoples welfare scheme undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Corporation this year employed a nodal agency whose chairperson happened to be the wife of Forest Minister Fateh Bahadur Singh. More than Rs 6 crore was released to the agency,without any work being done. These facts have surfaced in an inquiry being conducted by Lokayukta N K Mehrotra into allegations of misuse of government money by the minister.
Managing director R C Gautam told the Lokayukta on Monday that the forest corporation chose Gorakhpur zila panchayat,which is headed by the ministers wife Sadhna Singh,as the nodal agency for various civil works under the welfare scheme.
The civil works included installing hand pumps,constructing drains and paving work with interlocking bricks. While Rs 2.4 crore was released for hand pumps,Rs 1.66 crore was given for constructing drains and Rs 2 crore for brick work. But none of the works,which were to be completed within a month of the sanction,has yet been done,the Lokayukta was reportedly informed.
Under its Act,the corporation can sanction welfare schemes. The projects are generated from the divisional level and after the budget is passed by the managing board,the implementation is also done at the divisional level. However,there are not many instances in the past where the corporation has taken up such projects.
The Forest Ministers wife was elected zila panchayat chairman in late 2010. In 2011,the Gorakhpur division of the forest corporation generated projects and sent these for approval under the welfare scheme. The minister was chairperson of the board that sanctioned the projects.
The divisional manager of the forest corporation in Gorakhpur asked the expert agencies of the government,for rates for doing these works.
