Latest revision as of 17:52, 31 December 2024

[edit] History

[edit] Silver coins unearthed in 2022

P Naveen, Oct 21, 2022: The Times of India

BHOPAL: After cheetahs, Kuno is abuzz over buried treasure. Workers digging inside the national park in MP’s Sheopur district for construction of staff quarters have apparently unearthed a pot of die-struck copper and silver coins, more than two centuries old.

Unconfirmed reports say the treasure was buried a few feet under the earth close to Palpur fortress area — but some distance away from the enclosures where Namibian cheetahs were released. It's ours, hand it over to us, a descendant of the royal family told TOI.

While field director KNP Uttam Sharma said he had no news of this, DFO P K Verma said he was trying to verify the inputs and would take necessary action if found to be true.

Sources, however, told TOI that the pot was found on Wednesday and labourers distributed the coins among themselves. Many of them did not turn up for work on Thursday. Some of them took pictures and shared it on WhatsApp after which it spread like wildfire, triggering tremendous excitement in surrounding villages.

The Palpur royals, who had to vacate their fortress and 260-bigha land when Kuno was declared a sanctuary for shifting of Gir lions, were also informed by locals about the alleged discovery of the hidden treasure.

“We heard that they have found around four sacks full of coins,” R K Shreegopal Deo Singh Palpur, a descendent of the royal family, told TOI. “The forest department is secretly trying to dismantle our property (fort) for a long time so that we can be denied our claims to it,” he alleged.

“This is not the first time that they have found treasure but when you inspect the fort thoroughly, you can see many places have been dug up. Legally, the property is ours until there is a final settlement or our case in court reaches a final judgment,” he said, adding, “The forest department and archaeological department should not do anything on our property. Whatever they have found while digging belongs to the royal family of Palpur.”

He demanded that the valuables be handed over to the family. “They should stop all activities on our property or I will be forced to take legal action,” said Shreegopal Deo Singh, who is also fighting a battle in court against the state government to get their ancestral properties back.

The fortress is located in the core area of Kuno sanctuary, where cheetahs were released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17.

Located on the banks of Kuno river, the fort — Palpur Garhi, as it is locally known — had to be vacated by the Palpur royal family, along with people of 24 villages of their erstwhile ‘jagir’, after the area was notified as a wildlife sanctuary in 1981. When descendants of the Palpur family asked for compensation, the public works department (PWD) said in its survey report that the property was over 100 years old and had “zero value”. Based on this report, compensation was flatly denied.

[edit] Kuno National Park

[edit] Violation of rules, absence of documents/ 2020-21

P Naveen, Sep 17, 2024: The Times of India

Bhopal : Cheetahs were not part of the Kuno management plan, stated a MP govt audit report, pointing out violation of rules and absence of certain documents related to expenditures on Project Cheetah.


Kuno was marked for the relocation of Gir lions and was designated as their secondary habitat, but there was no movement on that front, the report said.


Auditors sent a detailed report to state govt, outright rejecting some explanations given by the forest department. Copies of the initial audit findings were obtained through RTI by activist Ajay Dubey who has demanded a probe into the objections raised by financial investigators.


According to the approved management plan for Kuno National Park (2020-21 to 2029-30), the sanctuary was designated as a crucial secondary habitat for Asiatic lions — alongside Gir forest in Gujarat — auditors noted, pointing out that no efforts had been made towards reintroduction of lions as of Nov 2023. This lapse raises questions about adherence to the management plan and the overall effective- ness of conservation efforts, they said.


The auditors also noted the absence of reports from a three-member expert team appointed by Supreme Court on Jan 28, 2020. These reports were not found in the forest division’s records, preventing verification of the facts presented to SC, stated the audit report.


The expenditure of over Rs 44.1 crore on Project Cheetah from 2021-22 to 2023-24 did not align with the approved management plan, it said. “This discrepancy suggests misallocation of funds and raises concerns about the proper use of financial resources,” added Dubey.


The auditors found that the forest division failed to conduct physical verification of store materials for 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscals, violating Rule 133 of MP Financial Code. The required certification for physical verification was missing, and stock accounts had not been prepared, which is a serious breach of regulations.


The audit also identified that geotagged photographs, which are required to document project work, were not maintained. This lack of documentation, combined with the expenditure of Rs 3,64,74,930 on pasture development and weed/latana eradication in 2020-21, 2022-23, and 2023-24, suggests a “faulty procedure and potential for wastage”.


In response, the forest division has pledged to address these issues by preparing the missing stock accounts and ensuring future compliance with documentation requirements.

However, the auditors have recommended that the matter be brought to the attention of higher officials for further action.