Jaipur: The forest department is allegedly dragging its feet on implementing forest minister Sanjay Sharma’s directions to expand the inquiry into payments made for development works, with no fresh investigation initiated despite the expiry of the deadlines set by the minister.On May 19, Sharma directed that the ongoing inquiry in the Alwar forest division be expanded to cover development works executed between 2004-05 and 2023-24. He also ordered that, in the first phase, one territorial forest division at each divisional headquarters be selected for a similar probe into payments made during the same period.The minister’s directions came after Viratnagar MLA Kuldeep Dhankhar sought a wider investigation, urging that payments related to forest development works across all forest divisions in Rajasthan between 2004-05 and 2023-24 be scrutinised.Sharma instructed the department to issue the necessary orders within three days and submit an action-taken report within one month.However, the department is yet to implement the minister’s directions. The inquiry remains confined to the committees earlier constituted for the Alwar, Ajmer and Bikaner forest divisions, with no additional forest division brought under the ambit of the probe. The investigations in the three divisions have also not been completed within the timeframe stipulated by the minister.A senior forest official said, “The probe in these divisions has also not been completed. The committees are visiting the sites and will submit their report soon.”The minister’s office also issued a reminder on June 5 after finding that the earlier directions had not been acted upon, directing the department to issue the requisite orders and place them before the minister.Environmentalists questioned the delay, alleging that complaints of financial irregularities in forest development works in several districts remain uninvestigated.“The department is dragging its feet despite clear directions from the minister. In forest regions such as Baran, Kota, Udaipur and Chittorgarh, large-scale irregularities in forest development works remain unexamined,” an environmentalist alleged.
