The group has been accused of maneuvering to transfer 50 bighas of land in Haspasa VDC in their personal names since past two months by taking advantage of the fluid political situation in the country. The land is valued at Rs 2 million per kattha. [break]
This has been revealed at a time when wood smuggling in Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa, Kailali and Kanchanpur is going on unabated.
National Vigilance Center (NVC) has said the group tried to transfer 37 bighas belonging to Herbs Production and Processing Center in Hasposa and 15 bighas to Hasposa Community Forest. They have even managed to get cabinet endorsement for the transfer.
Forest officials had written a letter to NVC three weeks ago to stop the transfer. The NVC sent a two-member team under Inspector Shyam Sundar Pandit to investigate the scenario.
Pandit said initial investigation have found that attempts were made by Sharma and the group to transfer the land. He said the group had even tried to manipulate the revenue officials in Sunsari to hasten the process.
It is suspected that the team tried to transfer the forest land in the pretext of giving the lands to the victims of Koshitappu Wildlife Reserve. The Chairman of Hasposa Community Forest, Rudra Bahadur Basnet, said that although the plan was to give land to a few victims, major portion was to be transferred in the group members´ name.
“The officials of our own Forest Users´ Group are also suspected to have been involved with Sharma´s gang,” Basnet said.
However, the District land Revenue Office Sunsari chief Bidur Khanal said that he is unaware of the scheme.
“I have heard some rumors but since I came here only a week back, I don´t know anything. Neither has anyone come to me to transfer the land,” he said.
Chief District Officer Ram Prasad Thapaliya informed that investigation is on to find out facts about the case.
Sharma, on the other hand, said he is a victim of a conspiracy hatched by his own party members. “I have been accused of the scam by those cadres of the party who are angry with me for not being picked for the posts of a commission on solving problems of the landless,” Sharma said.
He said he has been targeted as he is the least powerful on Bohara´s three secretaries. “I am a secretary only in name. I am only involved during the minister´s meetings with the cadres,” Sharma said. “I have no power. If people want personal revenge, what can I say?”
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