One scam after another: Now it’s the ‘palm tree’ scam in UP
LUCKNOW: Former Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister Mayawati is already drawing flak from all quarters for the number of scams which took place during her regime.
The scams include large-scale financial bungling in installation of over 200 elephant statutes at Dalit memorials and in construction of Dalit monuments.
Now the ‘palm tree’ plantation scam worth over Rs 55 crore has been unearthed.
According to police, which is probing the matter, over 37,000 palm trees were imported from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh for the parks and monuments built in the name of Dalit icons by Mayawati in Lucknow and Noida.
While 25,000 palm trees were planted in various parks and monuments in Lucknow, rest were planted in Noida. A tree costing Rs 5000 was purchased at Rs 25,000. A sum of over Rs 55 crore was reportedly paid for the imported trees. The transaction was done between 2010-2011.
Besides cost of trees, around Rs 10,000 per tree was paid to the contractors for planting at monuments in Lucknow and Noida. Some of the trees were 10 to 15 feet tall. Police sources said that no study was done to find out whether imported trees will survive in new conditions or not. As a result, of the total trees bought, only around 10% survived.
Trees were imported again to replace the dead ones but they are also drying with no one to take care after Mayawati lost assembly elections. Experts said that palm trees need a sandy soil and a particular climate to thrive but here they were planted between interlocking tiles and stone slabs, leading to low survival rate.
Police is questioning officers of the Rajkiya Nirman Nigam, a UP government public sector unit, which was assigned the task of plantation. Police investigation has also revealed that hundreds of trees which were not planted are still lying at different places in the city, while many have been dumped in the ponds.
Recently, the police had found anomalies in construction, transportation and installation of statutes of elephants in Dalit memorials.
Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has said that anomalies took place at every step from plantation of trees to allotment of contracts for construction work.
The buildings were constructed but demolished later to put up a new structure leading to huge loss to the public exchequer. Anomalies in purchase of sand stones for the memorial have also been found.
A CBI inquiry against over the Rs 5,000 crore scam in implementation of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) during Mayawati’s rule is already underway.
Her government was also pulled by the high court for acquiring land at throwaway prices from farmers and selling them to builders.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has found that Rs 12,000 crore scam took place in the sale of 21 government sugar mills. An appoximately Rs 600 crore scam has been detected in construction of canals in Bundelkhand.
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