[ad_1]
DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand vigilance department conducted raids at various establishments of former forest minister Harak Singh Rawat on Wednesday. While officials did not divulge details, sources said that the vigilance sleuths raided a medical college owned by Rawat’s son, and a petrol pump owned by his family, among other establishments.
The raids were linked to the alleged illegal construction and financial irregularities in the Pakhro Tiger Reserve range of Corbett National Park in 2019, a pet project of Rawat when he was the forest minister. An interim report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had pointed out that electric generators, which were meant for the project at Pakhro, had been given to the medical college owned by Rawat’s son in Dehradun.
On the directives of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Union government had formed a team to probe the alleged illegal tree-cutting in Corbett National Park. The team found gross irregularities in the project.
When contacted about the issue, Rawat told TOI, “During the Covid phase, I had directed forest officials to provide the generators of the department to hospitals and health establishments across the state, to help with the treatment of patients. Two generators – a big one and another small one – were brought to DIMS as well but I was not aware of it.”
He said that through the raids, he was being targeted to settle political scores.
The raids were linked to the alleged illegal construction and financial irregularities in the Pakhro Tiger Reserve range of Corbett National Park in 2019, a pet project of Rawat when he was the forest minister. An interim report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had pointed out that electric generators, which were meant for the project at Pakhro, had been given to the medical college owned by Rawat’s son in Dehradun.
On the directives of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Union government had formed a team to probe the alleged illegal tree-cutting in Corbett National Park. The team found gross irregularities in the project.
When contacted about the issue, Rawat told TOI, “During the Covid phase, I had directed forest officials to provide the generators of the department to hospitals and health establishments across the state, to help with the treatment of patients. Two generators – a big one and another small one – were brought to DIMS as well but I was not aware of it.”
He said that through the raids, he was being targeted to settle political scores.
[ad_2]
Source link
