Nature camp scam: 9 Marwahi forest officials to face action

Raipur: Nine officers of the Marwahi forest division will face disciplinary action after their role in the nature camp scam surfaced on Tuesday. The case pertains to the plantation management committee, Chichgohna, and nature camp committee, Jamwant Mada Gaganai in Marwahi
A three-layer probe into the scam revealed that one person was made the president of two committees and funds over Rs 1 crore was embezzled in connivance with forest officials, staff and a private bank branch manager.“By making the same person the president of these two committees, the government funds were engulfed by a planned manner,” DFO Satyadeo Sharma, who had investigated the scam, told TOI.
We are estimating the amount embezzled and it will take at least a fortnight. The figure may cross Rs 1 crore. The committees had come up in 2016 and the transactions of the last five year will be calculated, said the DFO.
The investigation proved that the scam was committed by the then ranger and in-charge DFO Sanjay Tripathi, present ranger Daroga Singh Maravi, forest guard Sunil Chaudhary, committee president Moolchand Kote and the private bank branch manager. Prima facie, guilty secretary Sunil Chaudhary has been suspended and the government has been written to take action against other officers and employees, said the DFO. Earlier, a complaint was made that the sub-committee plantation management committee and nature camp management committee had not been constituted as per rules. The complaint read that one person was managing the post of president of both committees. Similarly, another person was managing both the committee as secretary.