Govt smelling ‘plant purchase scam’ in HMDA

NAVEENA GHANATE
The Telangana government is reportedly probing the alleged irregularities in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority’s (HMDA) Urban Forestry Wing, focusing on the purchase of plants.
Sources indicate that the inquiry stems from the reports of substantial spending on plantation drives running into thousands of crores, with minimal accountability on the upkeep of the saplings.
“Although lakhs of plants were purchased only a few trees were found to have survived and remained to account for, making officials wonder whether the saplings actually existed or had perished without a trace,” sources said.
The HMDA Urban Forestry Wing, in which some officers from the Forest Department are on deputation, has come under the radar. A Deputy Range Officer who held posts for about five years and even managed to get recommendations from the new government for the probe is facing allegations.
The HMDA has jurisdiction over a vast area including Hyderabad city. The modus operandi is reportedly to purchase plants. The maintenance team comes after a month or so and by then the plants may be reported as dead. It is a cycle that happens every kilometre phase-wise.
In recent years, the HMDA, having the flexibility to procure plants, had opted for large-scale purchases. By contrast, the Forest Department, which lacks similar procurement freedom, had some of its officers deputed to HMDA, where they oversaw these acquisitions.
“Early estimates peg the value of these transactions at between Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,200 crore, raising concerns over the potential misuse of public funds,” sources indicated.
The sources alleged that from the top to the bottom everyone seems to be involved. “We need to probe in detail to get an estimate of how much this scam amounts to. Some of these were seen as Haritha Haram plants too,” sources said.