Grey area: Mayor sets up probe into 'garden scam'

JAIPUR: As the city’s patchy green cover is fast withering, a plantation-related scam worth Rs 80 lakh only shows the civic apathy to preserve the handful of trees left.
An inquiry committee has been constituted on Wednesday to look into the scam, which was busted on May 2.
The gardening department of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) had claimed Rs 80 lakh for planting 20,000 sapling in various areas across the city between October 2009 and March 2010.
A surprise visit by mayor Jyoti Khandelwal at the sites however, exposed the fraud. “When the mayor
went round those areas, she found that the work had not been completed,” said officer on special duty Narendra Ajmera. The on-site verification by the JMC team also proved the claims false.
Khandelwal has constituted a high-level inquiry com-mittee consisting of chief engineer, chief executive offi-cer(CEO), and headquarters commissioner, and has asked them to submit the report in a week. The saplings were to be planted at Bhrigu Path (850m stretch), Madhyam Marg (3.5 km stretch) and Renovation, a park in Tilak Nagar.
Khandelwal said she found huge irregularities of omis-sion and commission in the entire exercise. “I have stopped the payment and constituted a committee which will submit its report on May 11,” she said.
Following the scam, garden inspector Sant Ram Meena has been relieved of his duties and sent back to his par-ent department. Meena has been in the JMC on deputation for years.JMC sources said the contractors resorted to a huge cover-up after the surprise visit. Apparently, they planted full grown trees on the sites to evade punitive action.
Meanwhile, the in-charge of the planation work, Badri Prasad, denied all the charges, and said the inquiry would reveal the truth. “I do not think any irregularities have been practised under my supervision. You can see how much work has been done in the Tilak Nagar park. All bills are genuine,” he claimed.
Contrary to Prasad’s statement, randomly picked parks maintained by the JMC across the city in Malviya Nagar, Raja Park, Tonk Road area were found in a dismal condition. Residents complained about lack of maintenance of the parks. “I have been a regular to these parks but of late the general maintenance has deteriorated. All the benches, and swings are in a bad state,” said Bhawesh Kumawat, a resident of Malviya Nagar.