Rawat waves probe panel card in the face of BJP attack

The commission is probing a host of alleged scandals that occurred in the five-year rule of the previous BJP govt

Faced with a barrage of attacks from the BJP, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat stated that his government would receive the S N Tripathi commission report by October-end and take strong action on the basis of its report. The commission is probing a host of alleged scandals that occurred in the five-year rule of the previous BJP government.

"The Tripathi commission would complete its report by October-end. We will take strong action on the basis of the report," Rawat told Business Standard on the sidelines of a Diwali function here.

He made it clear that before taking any action the government will also put the entire report in the public domain. Although the commission was given several extensions in the past, Rawat expressed confidence that the final report of the panel would be available by the end of the month.

"Be it Kumbh mela or the Citurgia issue, people want to know who was the real culprit," said Rawat as he began attacking BJP for 'unwarranted' criticism on the Kedarnath disaster-related rehabilitation and reconstruction work. Rawat's comments came as leader of the opposition Ajay Bhatt has demanded a special Vidhan Sabha session on the Kedarnath disaster last year, that caused severe devastation in the hill state killing more than 5,000 people.

Though senior government officials were not ready to comment on the issue, Congress leaders said Rawat is ready to initiate action against some BJP leaders who were allegedly involved in misappropriation of funds and irregularities in various projects. "The Congress is committed to fulfill its election manifesto promise on probing BJP scandals," state Congress president Kishore Upadhayay said.

Initially, K L Bhati, a retired IAS officer, had began the inquiry in 2012 on what is being described by the Congress as "loot of Uttarakhand" during the former BJP government's rule. Bhati, who probed a total of six scams, submitted a report on alleged irregularities in the Uttarakhand Seeds and Terai Corporation Ltd (USTCL) to the government and later tabled it in the state Assembly on March 19 last year.

However, soon after submitting the report Bhati resigned, following a controversy over his official residence. He was replaced by S N Tripathi. The main focus of the commission's investigation is on the Maha Kumbh Mela scam where central funds to the tune of Rs 500 to Rs 600 crore were allegedly misused and misappropriated.

Senior Congress leaders had stated that the government would initiate legal action against the guilty after the completion of the inquiry report. The commission is probing alleged irregularities in allotment of 56 hydropower projects, Citurgia housing project, Maha Kumbh Mela, centrally-sponsored schemes, Uttarakhand Seeds and Terai Seeds Corporation and funds for disaster management during BJP regime.