Chief secretary orders probe into soil purchase scam
Patna,(BiharTimes): Chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh on Thursday ordered a probe into alleged Rs 90 lakh soil purchase scam involving Lalu Prasad and his eldest son Tej Pratap Yadav, who is also the state environment and forest minister.
As reported a land owned by Lalu Prasad’s family was sold to the Forest Department for the filling work in Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park or Patna Zoo. The land is situated in Saguna More on the western outskirts of Patna, where a mall is being constructed by a private builder who also happens to be an RJD MLA.
Tej Pratap and his younger brother Tejaswi Yadav, who is also the deputy chief mnister of Bihar, are among the directors of company which holds the land.
As the work began on the plot to build the mall, a lot of soil was dug out of the plot which was deemed surplus.
According to the senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi this was allegedly sold to Patna Zoo where some related work was under way for Rs 90 lakh, that too without tender.
Patna Zoo falls under the Bihar Forest Department.
Sushil Modi, who has described it as the "soil purchase scam", has demanded an all-party committee be set up to probe it.
"Lalu has not changed over the years, it has been proved with the soil purchase scam. He is himself an accused in the multi-million fodder scam, and like father, now his son is doing the soil scam," Modi said.
However, Tej Pratap denied all allegations against him by the opposition parties, and has also threatened to file a defamation case against Sushil Modi.
