Karnataka - Mysore   

PAC takes forest officials to task

MYSORE: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) pulled up the Forest Department for its shortcomings in its functioning at a meeting here on Tuesday to review the implementation of conservation, protection and promotional measures in Bandipur and Nagarahole tiger reserves.

The committee headed by the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also conducted a site inspection at Kappusoge near Nanjangud where four elephants were found dead in mysterious circumstances and subsequently confirmed by laboratory reports as being poisoned.

The absence of Principal Secretary Swaminath irked Mr. Siddaramaiah, who directed that the former who was in Bangalore, appear before the committee “by evening” or by “Wednesday morning”.

Expressing concern over the public money spent on creating infrastructure such as Elephant Proof Trench (EPT) but not maintaining it, the members of the committee said Rs. 3.7 crore had been spent on the trench around the forest periphery. But it was not being maintained and this amounted to wasting public money. The trench would fail to serve the purpose, the members said. When the officials of the Forest Department expressed helplessness citing paucity of funds, the committee members would have none of it and said it was not enough if you spend the money that had been allocated by the Government. “Let us know the efforts you have made to secure funds from the appropriate authorities.” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) I.B. Srivastav was grilled by Mr. Siddaramaiah, who sought to know what efforts he made to secure funds from the Government. The officials pointed out that the trench failed to meet its objectives because of the tendency of the local people to fill it up to facilitate the movement of cattle into the forests.

Mr. Siddaramaiah, who was not convinced, said that the people might have filled the trench at a few places. But what about the maintenance of the trench along the remaining stretch from where elephants crossed over and strayed into farmland? The committee also took stock of the functioning of the solar powered fence and learnt that the elephants continued to cross over despite the trench and the fence. A report submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General had criticised the department for wasteful expenditure on solar powered fence. The report noted the failure of the officials to monitor the execution of solar powered fence resulting in substandard work and consequent wasteful expenditure to the tune of Rs. 37.87 lakh, besides leading to payment of Rs. 38.57 lakh towards crop compensation to the people. The members Chandrakanth Ballad, V. Muniappa and Sreenivas, MLAs, and V.R. Sudarshan and Tontadarya, MLCs, visited Kappusoge where four elephants were poisoned to death recently. They said they would study the compensation given to farmers, impact of eco-tourism and proliferation of resorts on the fringes of the parks before submitting its recommendations.

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