The Forest Department had found that Rs 1.75 crore allocated for compensatory afforestation in the year 2014-15 was misappropriated by the officials of the Kolar division. (Representative image)
Credit: Special arrangement
Bengaluru: More than 10 years after forest officials were accused of misappropriating funds meant for the afforestation of more than 1,134 acres in the non-forest areas of Antaragange in the arid district of Kolar division, the government has issued an order punishing the range forest officer (RFO) while letting go of the assistant conservator of forests (ACF).
The Forest Department had found that Rs 1.75 crore allocated for compensatory afforestation in the year 2014-15 was misappropriated by the officials of the Kolar division.
The department had conducted an inquiry against the then ACF G A Gangadhar (ACF) and RFO Abdul Khader on the suspicion of dereliction of duty and misuse of powers.
In the course of the inquiry, Gangadhar was promoted as a deputy conservator of forests. The government issued a show-cause notice to the officer and received a response. The order said that Khader did not give a written response to the notice in the four months given to him. In the following years, both retired.
The enquiry officer, who looked into the case and assessed the response from both officers, opined that the investigating officer had failed to prove the charges against Gangadhar.
“The ACF has not signed the letter seeking funds. The accusation against him has not been established as facts,” the officer said.
Khader, however, was found guilty due to the failure to respond.
“The charges against the accused are proven. He has also not utilised the opportunities provided to him to respond to the accusations and has not turned up to the enquiry. Hence, the charges are proven,” the officer said.
The government looked into the report by the officer and decided to drop charges against Gangadhar.
Noting that Khader has failed to provide any documents to prove his innocence, the government decided to cut 1/3rd of his pension as punishment for the offence.
Sources in the department said charges against seniors are usually dropped. “In such cases, the process is seen as a punishment once a person reaches the DCF post. It’s the lower rung officers who get punished,” the source added.