Five Forest Officials Arrested for ₹79 Lakh Afforestation Scam in Kalahandi

Cuttack: In a significant development, Odisha Vigilance has arrested five forest personnel from the Jaypatana Range in Kalahandi district on charges of misappropriating government funds worth ₹79,54,635 under the Compensatory Afforestation Scheme.

The arrests came after a detailed investigation carried out by four Vigilance teams comprising 25 officers. The inquiry involved site inspections and record verifications at several plantation locations, including Champachuan-I, Champachuan-II, Khamarpadar Bald Hill, and two Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) sites in Khamarpadar. The probe revealed substantial shortfalls in plantation work and clear evidence of large-scale fund diversion.

According to Vigilance officials, the accused officials manipulated plantation records and diverted the sanctioned funds into multiple fictitious labour accounts. These funds were then withdrawn and siphoned off. The arrested officials have been identified as Sairendri Bag, Deputy Ranger and In-charge of Jaypatana Range; Umesh Rout and Debraj Sunani, both Foresters; and Ashok Kumar Sahu and Lalit Naik, both Forest Guards. They allegedly failed to carry out the plantation work during the 2023–24 financial year but submitted forged documentation to indicate otherwise.

A case has been registered under Koraput Vigilance Police Station Case No. 19 dated 12.05.2025, under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018), along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Vigilance authorities have stated that the investigation is ongoing to ascertain