Jayanthi Natarajan on ED radar over ‘abuse of power’

NEW DELHI: Trouble mounts for former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan as she now is on the enforcement directorate’s (ED) radar for alleged abuse of her position as minister.

Last week CBI registered an FIR against Natarajan for illegal diversion of forest land in Jharkhand for mining by a private company, Electrosteel Casting Ltd. Sources in the ED said they have asked for the details of the case from CBI to probe if there has been any money laundering.

ED is probing paybacks that Natarajan might have received for allowing Electrosteel to mine in the Saranda forests of Jharkhand, despite rejections by her predecessor Jairam Ramesh and the forest advisory committee.

Sources said that some of Natarajan’s other decisions taken during her term are also under the lens. A case against Jayanthi is likely to be filed by ED soon, said sources.

Natarajan was the minister of state for environment and forest with independent charge from 2011 to 2013.

According to the CBI FIR, the Jharkhand government in 2008 submitted a proposal for diverting 55.79 hectares of forest land for ‘non-forest’ use by Electrosteel.

The forest advisory committee rejected the plan and a year later. Electrosteel resubmitted the proposal but this time, Ramesh as environment minister rejected it.

The company then wrote to the PM in 2010 for reconsideration.

And the proposal was again put before the advisory committee, which rejected it. On July 13, 2011, Natarajan succeeded Ramesh in the ministry. In February 2012, she approved the proposal.