Haryana Forest Development Corporation’s Cash Developing Whom?

Chandigarh (I-Haryana News): Haryana Forest Development Corporation, a company formed by Government of Haryana in December 1989, which was initially formed with one of the objects to increase the financial status of farming and labour community by promoting development of forest based and allied industries, has now turned into milking cow to improve the financial health of Forests officers posted in this company, as this Haryana Government owned company does most of its business transactions in cash.

The copies of records with IHN establish that their officers are openly minting money by preparing fake and forged bills. In some cases, payment has been made against quotation/ estimates also, instead of proper bills from registered VAT/ Service Tax dealers.  

Following Table shows Cash transactions as compare to total expenditure incurred by corporation w.e.f 2009-2012:

Year	Total Expenditure in Lacs	Cash Expenditure in Lacs
2009-10	3098.36	1400
2010-11	3909.50	1100
2011-12	5008.60	1300

                                                                              Based on information at www.hfdc.gov.in & ABCNIS Research

Intelligent Haryana News Research Team has found that more than 35 projects are being executed by HFDC Regional Office Gurgaon. Out the same, study of two projects based at Deolali at Nasik and Chandimandir at Panchkula, was done. It was analyzed that majority of projects bills were fabricated by HFDC Regional Office Gurgaon (copies of these are with IHN), which relate to arboriculture/ landscaping and Earth filling works.   All these two works were carried out by HFDC in Jurisdiction of Indian Army area.

The bills submitted by two Nasik based contractors, those who were shown aboriculture/ landscaping and worked in 2009 in Deolali (Nasik) in Cantonment area and paid cash of over Rs.22 lacs, all bills submitted by them do not have bill number, date and signature of contractors and apparently prepared in same handwriting and style which could raise eye brow of any layman on first sight.

The HFDC officers responsible to make payments to these dubious contractors while giving them cash payments of over Rs.22 lacs, ignoring Rs.20000/- limit as per Income Tax Act, also did not charged service tax on bills amount and further as work allotted to said contractors involved 60 labourers who were paid wage of Rs.448000/- without obeying the obligations under Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Act, 1952, which entails punishment of imprisonment of three years of defaulting employer (HFDC).

There are many bills on record, which are issued by those firms which never existed. In one of the Pinjore based contactor Mr. Shyam of S L Electrical, who was paid Rs.5.38 lacs, in cash for electrical work done in Chandimandir military area, the bills clearly indicate violation of VAT, Service Tax and Work Contract Tax provisions, which again mark a question on the validity of the said bills. When IHN talked to contactor Mr. Shyam, proprietor of so called S L Electrical Works over his mobile number and he fully expressed his ignorance regarding bill submitted and confirmed that he does not has shop at address mentioned in bill submitted. It seems that the Corporation has hired some specialized person for preparation of so called bills and quotations etc. as most of the bills are in same handwriting and contents of bills are also same.

Further, IHN investigation revealed that HFDC’s Kurukshetra Regional Office proved more intelligent than Gurgaon where they used window dressing methods to flout Income Tax provisions, by getting the bills of works done/ procurement by breaking the same into amounts below Rs.20000/-, along with forged quotations from same persons with each bill.

As per information with IHN, HFDC’s turnover since 2000-01 is as under which consist of sale of trees /wood, barbed wire, polythene bags, bank interests etc. till 2008 and w.e.f. 2009 included landscaping and other related jobs/ projects, which have contributed an average of 15 percent of total turnover :

Year	Turnover (Rs. In Lac)	Sales by Projects	Percent
2000-01	1865.79	-	-
2001-02	1404.08	-	-
2002-03	1243.24	-	-
2003-04	1363.75	-	-
2004-05	1193.88	-	-
2005-06	1449.66	-	-
2006-07	2074.98	-	-
2007-08	1932.39	-	-
2008-09	3146.06	93.26	02.96
2009-10	3619.26	434.01	11.99
2010-11	4566.66	849.11	18.59
2011-12	5577.81	Not Available	Not Available

                                                                                 Source: www.hdfc.gov.in and ABCNIS Research

As mentioned above Corporation in 2009 had started taking arboriculture/ landscaping projects works, that too mostly out of Haryana, and also the game of cash transactions started and it is very strange that the company which has its headquarter in Panchkula has deputed only Gurgaon Regional Office to undertake the projects works on behalf of HFDC.

In most of vendors  from whom procurement/services have been hired they don’t have VAT /Service tax registration from respective department. In contrary to claim by department on its Website that they have paid 104 crores sale tax/VAT (source www.hfdc.gov.in), they have hidden the fact of theft of Vat/service tax/ Work Contract Tax, in crores of Rupees with connivance/ involvement  of officers of Corporation, thereby generating loss of revenue to Haryana and other State Governments and Centre.

On one hand, Government of India is emphasizing on cutting of cash transactions by way of amendments in Income Tax Act and other statutory laws, and also by making Permanent Account Number and ADHAR compulsory, whereas on the other hand corporation seems to be in hurry in distributing huge cash by way of expenditure.

When IHN Asked Mr. Ravi Sharma, a prominent lawyer in Punjab and Haryana High Court about large scale cash payments made by HFDC ignoring government and income tax laws, he categorically stated that as per section 40A (3) w.e.f 2009-10, where the assessee incurs any expenditure in respect of which a payment or aggregate of payments made to a person in a day, otherwise than account payee cheque or account payee bank draft, exceeds Rs 20000, no deduction shall be allowed in respect of such expenditure.”

The above mentioned fake fabrications of bills and quotations etc are only the few glimpses of sea of deliberately errors committed by HFDC officers to siphon money into their pockets. If any investigating agency will conduct thorough investigation into these fake fabrications of bills, scandal of crores of rupees would come out.  

When IHN research Team tried to know the version of Haryana Forests Minister, Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav about HFDC huge cash business transactions on his Mobile Number 09896422122, he categorically stated that we should talk to officers concerned and expressed his ignorance on the issue.

Further, when IHN talked to Mr. Subhash Chander Yadav, a Haryana Forests Services officer posted in Gurgaon as General Manager on his mobile number 09416415504 and asked him about cash transactions made by his office while doing arboriculture/ landscaping works at Deolali (Nasik) and Chandimandir (Panchkula), he refused to share anything about the issue and threatened IHN’s senior Journalist and disconnected the phone. It is pertinent to mention here that Mr. Yadav is holding the said charge for last many years except short term when he was posted in Mewat and again returned to cash milking position of HFDC, as he is said to be close to a Haryana Minister from Ahirwal region.

Further, the company has done projects of over Rs 25 crores since 2008 to 2012 in Regional Office Gurgaon and has suffered huge loss due to above mentioned fabrication in execution of projects works by company officers.

Last not the least, this open defying of statutory and government provisions by Haryana Forests Development Corporation while carrying its business, in public eyes, raises question mark over existing audit mechanism to keep transparency in working of public as well as private sector companies.

It is a point of question as to how various internal, external Government, statutory auditing and non auditing bodies have failed to point out these scams and serious lapses in business transactions, in their reports for all these years.

After prima facie investigation and inputs received from internal sources and by IHN Field team spread all over Haryana, it has been decided that soon IHN would publish detailed research report on entire working of HFDC on Financial & Non Financial scams.

Content Source: Intelligent Haryana News

Dinesh Singh Rawat Says;

Forests and mining are two major avenues for government officers  to loot public as well s nature exchequer, which they are looting since 1947 with conveyance with Indian political bosses uninterrupted.

This Research  report by Intelligent Haryana News Team really deserves great appricition, I salute IHN team for this research report.