Kathmandu, April 22:

Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation Matrika Prasad Yadav said today that the forestry and wildlife sector is one of the most corrupt sectors.

“The forestry and wildlife sector is mired in corruption. Time has come to investigate how much money we have consumed from funds allocated for the forests. May be, the minister’s chair is the one which seeks the lion’s share of funds amassed through corruption,” he said. Yadav was addressing the inaugural session of a regional seminar on managing protected areas.

Right from the low-level staff to the secretary, all are accustomed to the feudal system of bureaucracy. “Time has come to debate how much ‘fodder’ wardens gave to ministers and director-generals,” he said.

“The so-called experts come up and talk about impressive achievements, but provide us with old and suspicious data. This is not the way to assess the achievements. We must judge everything on practical grounds,” he said.

On dispute that occurred between the Prime Minister and himself a few days ago, he said, “It is not justifiable that one minister cannot speak on another minister’s area. We are after all part of ecosystem and interaction is needed among all, just like among the animals.”