Plea alleges fund fraud in Kedarnath rebuilding; HC orders FIR

A division bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Lok Pal Singh issued the direction while hearing a public interest litigation filed by one Sushil Vashisht in 2016

Updated on: Jun 15, 2018, 22:46:46 IST

Hindustan Times, Nainital | By Neeraj Santoshi

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The Uttarakhand high court on Friday directed the state government to file an FIR against the officials responsible for alleged financial irregularities in the rebuilding of the damaged infrastructure around Kedarnath shrine in the aftermath of the 2013 tragedy.

The ongoing reconstruction works near Kedarnath shrine. (Rajeev Kala/HT photo)

A division bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Lok Pal Singh issued the direction while hearing a public interest litigation filed by one Sushil Vashisht in 2016.

The petitioner had raised the issue of the alleged embezzlement of public money from disaster quota by the authorities concerned in the Uttarakhand renewable energy development agency (UREDA). The UREDA is the nodal agency that has been allotted works to rebuild the damaged infrastructure around the shrine.

The petition highlighted the case of four projects around Kedarnath on which ₹30 crore was spent. “The PIL alleges that official showed the works around Kedarnath as new construction even though they were renovation works,” petitioner’s counsel Kurban Ali said.

Deputy advocate general SS Chauhan said, “The government will study the HC order and take action accordingly.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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