Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Umang Singhar has written to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the state government to initiate investigation against former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former forest minister Gauri Shanker Shejwar and over half a dozen senior forest officials for financial irregularities in the massive plantation drive conducted in 2017.
While talking to media persons here on Friday, Singhar said that he has asked the EOW to probe the alleged misappropriation of public funds in the 2017 plantation drive held under Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
He informed that On July 2, 2017, when Shivraj Singh Chouhan was the Chief Minister of the state, Forest department in coordination with various government departments had taken a mammoth drive for planting around 6 crore saplings in a single day across the state for getting the attempt registered into the Guinness Book of World Records.
The attempt had ended up a major scam as the record could not be made and also allegations were levelled that huge amounts of funds were misappropriated in the process.
Terming the scam, as a ‘Systematic Siphoning of Government Funds, Singhar claimed that according to the Guinness Book of World Record officials, only 4.5 % saplings were planted in accordance with the parameters. There have been massive anomalies in Rs 455 cr plantation project, said the minister.
Then Shivraj government had decided to undertake the plantation in a single day while this should have spread to around one month and half, said the minister claiming that saplings were brought from Maharashtra and Gujarat and JCB machined were used to dig up pits and at places, no pits were dug.
The minister said that the probe has been handed over to EoW against ex-CM Shivraj, then Forest minister Gaurishankar Shejwar, senior officers and prima facie it’s evident that orders for this plantation were issued by the then Chief Minister.
According to government records, over 1.21 lakh places were identified for plantation and 7.10 crore saplings were planted whereas the data offered by the Guinness Book of World Records officials to MP government, there were only 5,540 plantation sites and over 2.22 crore saplings were eventually planted in the said drive.
