Beed: Social activist Dr Ganesh Dhawale has alleged that no inquiry has been initiated into an alleged ₹42-crore fake plantation scam in the Beed district, even as officials from the Revenue and Police departments are facing action over illegal sand mining in the Godavari belt.
In a press release issued on Thursday, Dhawale urged MLA Vijay Singh Pandit to pursue the alleged irregularities in the Forest Department with the same determination that led to action in illegal sand mining cases. He said representations have also been submitted to Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik, the Principal Secretary of the Forest Department and the Beed District Collector, seeking a high-level investigation.
According to the memorandum, large-scale irregularities have taken place in the Forest Department and the Social Forestry Department in Beed, leading to the alleged misuse of government funds. Dhawale alleged that plantation work carried out under the Harit Maharashtra campaign on August 7, 2025, violated prescribed norms and was undertaken only to complete official records, resulting in the wastage of crores of rupees from the public exchequer.
The complaint seeks an inquiry into the alleged lack of proper plantation planning, use of substandard saplings, violation of plantation schedules, imbalance in fund allocation, alleged collusion with contractors and irregularities in the procurement of materials.
Dhawale has also sought an investigation into the purchase of equipment, including fire blowers, drones and GPS devices, alleging that mandatory government procurement rules were not followed. He has demanded an independent assessment of all works carried out by the Forest and Social Forestry departments in the district over the past three years.
Questioning the delay in initiating an inquiry, Dhawale said if complaints by elected representatives could trigger prompt action in illegal sand mining cases, there was no reason for inaction in a matter involving serious allegations against the Forest Department. He warned that an agitation would be launched if a high-level investigation were not ordered and those responsible were not held accountable.
The allegations made by the activist have not been independently verified, and there has been no official response from the Forest Department so far.
