ED Raids Former Uttarakhand Bjp Minister Premises On Alleged Forest Scam

Digital Desk: ED raids premises related to the former cabinet of Uttarakhand, Harak Singh Rawat. He was forest minister under Pushkar Sing Dhami’s BJP government. The Enforcement Directorate began searches on more than 10 locations related to Harak Singh Rawat on alleged financial irregularities, cutting down of trees, and illegal construction in the Corbett National Park in 2019.

 

The alleged forest scam case was about the allegedly illegal construction, cutting down of thousands of trees, and financial irregularities in the Pakhro Tiger Reserve range of Corbett National Park in 2019. During Rawat’s tenure, the Pakhro Tiger Reserve development was the BJP’s pet project. The BJP expelled Rawat on allegations of anti-party activities ahead of the last assembly polls.

 

According to a report in the Indian Express, After the allegations of irregularities surfaced, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) officials inspected the Corbett National Park in 2019. Where officials found many irregularities in the construction of the pet project. The felling of trees was also linked to the violation of the Indian Forest Act 1927, Forest (Conservation) Act 1970, and Wildlife (Conservation) Act 1972. 

 

Pramod Tiwari of the Congress Party says, as quoted by PTI, “The BJP uses the ED, CBI, and the Income Tax Department and forces the opposition leaders to join them. The same happened today and raids were conducted against former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat." Former Uttarakhand CM Harish Singh Rawat commenting on the raids said, “It is the election season and also the season of ED.”

 

After being expelled from the BJP, Rawat joined Congress and became a star campaigner of Congress in the Uttarakhand assembly elections of 2022. He is a prominent politician of Uttarakhand and has been in active politics since 1991.