Bengaluru: If the forest department claims were true, the state would have been filled with lush green forests. Lokayukta Y. Bhaskar Rao, suspecting a scam, has ordered an inquiry into the department’s expenditure of Rs 32 crore towards afforestation between 2001 and 2011.
The Lokayukta ordered the investigation after Dr Raju Kulageri, an advocate from Gulbarga, filed a complaint with the anti-corruption institution. Justice Rao has asked the Lokayukta ADGP to take action under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant laws.
Mr Kulageri has stated in the complaint that though the forest department has claimed a forest cover of 33 per cent in Gulbarga only 3.1 per cent existed. A Deputy Conservator of Forests, however, has submitted before the Lokayukta that all financial transactions are accounted for.
