Official sources said that the three officers have been asked to reply within 30 days. (Representational Image)
Eight years after an alleged multi-crore scam in the UPA government’s flagship rural employment scheme – MGNREGA – in Ambala district, the Haryana government has issued show-cause notices to three officers of State Forest Department asking them why their services should not be terminated. The scam had come into light in 2010 when the state was given a national award for excellent implementation of the scheme in Ambala district.
The officers who have been issued notices are Jagmohan Sharma, Divisional Forest Officer (Headquarter), Prashant Sharma, Additional Divisional Forest Officer (ADFO), Kurukshetra and Rajesh Rana, Assistant Conservator of Forests (legal). The officers belong to Haryana Forest Service (HFS).
Confirming the development, Haryana Principal Secretary (Forests) SN Roy told The Indian Express that the government would take a call about the punishment only after getting a reply from the officers concerned. “It is a show-cause notice. Their reply will be considered before taking any action. As of now, no decision has been taken regarding punishment to them,” Roy added.
Official sources said that the three officers have been asked to reply within 30 days. When The Indian Express contacted them for comments, Prashant Sharma abruptly disconnected the phone and did not take the call again. Jagmohan Sharma did not respond despite phone call and text message on his mobile, while Rajesh Rana’s mobile phone was found switched off. It’s alleged that nine officials embezzled and misappropriated the scheme’s funds by preparing fake records during 2007 to 2010.
Ambala was handed out Rs 45 crore under MGNREGA and works amounting to Rs 25 crore were executed by the forest department. After two Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADC) – Wazir Singh Goyat and Sanjeev Verma – exposed the irregularities in the scheme in 2010, the State Vigilance Bureau (SVB) conducted an inquiry and recommended an FIR in 2012. However, the matter lingered on for many years. After the BJP came to power, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in January 2015 ordered registration of an FIR against nine officials, including the three officers, who have been issued show-cause notices now. In the same matter, the Haryana Lokayukta in May 2017 had recommended registration of an FIR against four IAS officers but the government has not taken a final decision on the matter yet.
The 2012 vigilance report had claimed that the bureaucrats had released a grant of Rs 25 crore to Jagmohan Sharma without administrative and technical approval. An RTI activist, PP Kappor, who had taken the case to the Lokayukta, has urged the government to initiate action on the recommendations of the ombudsman.