VELLORE: Suspended District Forest Officer (Social Forestry), Vellore Division, Sampat Lal Gupta, petitioned the Director General of Forests, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), on Monday seeking the Union ministry’s intervention to consider revoking the suspension imposed on December 31, 2013. Gupta claims that he was harassed by senior officials for exposing ‘under-the-table’ activities of corrupt officials. In addition, Gupta claims he has been denied his salary and subsistence allowance for a period that extends from 12 months before his suspension to date.
Gupta, a 1997 batch Indian Forest Service officer, assumed charge as District Forest Officer (Social Forestry), Vellore in July 2012. He was suspended on December 31, 2013 on charges of “irregularities, mismanagement and failing to maintain cordial relationship with superiors and subordinates”.
Gupta claims that higher officials began harassing him even before he assumed his position as DFO in Vellore as he had taken legal action and filed a case against the Special Task Force personnel for smuggling sandalwood trees from government godowns in Sathyamangalam in January 2006 when he was the DFO there. His persecution continued after he assumed office in Vellore district as the DFO leading finally to his suspension in December 2013.
“The suspension order was a new year’s gift for being upright and exposing the corrupt practices in the department and for merely doing my duty in the interest of the state and the people,” Gupta told Express in a telephone interview.
According to rules, suspensions last between three and 12 months. However in the case of Gupta, the suspension has continued for 20 months without any clarification. The MoEF was allegedly only recently informed of the extended suspension with Gupta himself learning about it after he approached MoEF officials on Thursday last.
Gupta urged the union ministry to order an investigation either by the CBI or a retired judge of the Supreme Court against widespread corruption in the forest department. He also charged that several forest officials were hand in glove with the smugglers of red sander and sandal wood trees.
Gupta claims in his petition that around 200 trees, predominantly red sander trees, were reportedly cut down and smuggled out of the forest area in Thakkarakuppam area between April 19, 2013 and May 2, 2013. He also stated that red sander trees worth around `10 crore were smuggled out of the forest in the Vellore region with the collusion of the forest officials in 2014.
“It was a pre-meditated act with officials colluding with the smugglers,” said Gupta. He added that he sent a confidential report to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Tamil Nadu, outlining the corrupt practices of the Forest officials.
Gupta states that he also initiated departmental action against a few of his subordinates for allegedly indulging in corrupt practices and failing to take action against smugglers. “After my suspension, several officials acted swiftly and manipulated documents and created false evidence and filed charge sheets against accusing me of irregularities. If a central agency conducts a probe, everything will be exposed,” he charged.