Supreme Court: A department of Uttarakhand government has ruined the money received for plantation, buying iPhone and refrigerator. Now the Supreme Court on Wednesday objected to the alleged misuse of the Campa (compensatory forest plantation fund management and plan authority) funds by the Uttarakhand government to buy iPhones and other goods. The court has sought an answer from the Chief Secretary of the state in this regard.
Bought iPhone from the money received from plantation
The Supreme Court bench was hearing the 1995 PIL, TN Godavarman vs. India, the state of India, which is based on environmental protection and forest protection. In which the report of CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) of India was presented. According to this, Campa Fund has been used for allegedly unacceptable expenses, including iPhones, laptops, purchases of refrigerators and renewal of buildings. The CAG report examined the use of Campa expenditure from 2019 to 2022 and revealed several financial irregularities. In addition to the alleged unauthorized purchases of iPhone, laptops, fridge, cooler and office renewal, the funds were allegedly used for fighting court matters and for personal expenses.
Supreme Court sought answers from Chief Secretary
Justice BR A bench of Justice Gawai and Justice Augustine George Christ said that this amount should be used to increase greenery. However, using it for unacceptable activities and not depositing interest in the SCAF (State Common Forests Fund) according to the Act is a serious issue. The bench has directed the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand to file an affidavit in this regard. Apart from this, the Chief Secretary will be asked to appear if there is no satisfactory answer by 19 March.
