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Illegal infra in Corbett: Vigilance department gets nod to book officer, others
The department has got the government’s approval to register a first information report against Indian Forest Service(IFS) officer Kishan Chand and others on Saturday and may receive the formal approval letter by Monday, following which a case will be registered, vigilance director Amit Sinha said.
Officials and contractors can now be prosecuted for felling trees and constructing illegal structures in Corbett Tiger Reserve as the state vigilance department has secured the government’s permission to do so, an official said.
The department has got the government’s approval to register a first information report against Indian Forest Service(IFS) officer Kishan Chand and others on Saturday and may receive the formal approval letter by Monday, following which a case will be registered, vigilance director Amit Sinha said.
The case will be registered in Haldwani under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. In April, taking action against illegal constructions and felling of trees in the tiger reserve, the state government had suspended two IFS officers — JS Suhag, the then chief wildlife warden and chief executive officer (CAMPA) and Chand, the then divisional forest officer Kalagarh Tiger Reserve — while Rahul (who goes by his first name), director of the reserve, was removed from his post and attached to the office of the principal chief conservator of forests, Dehradun. The action came after principal chief conservator of forests Rajiv Bhartari was removed from post and posted as chairman of state biodiversity board in November last year.
In January, Uttarakhand high court directed the state’s chief secretary and principal secretary of forests to take action against officers found guilty in the case.
On April 17, the Uttarakhand government had served a notice to Rahul for illegal construction and felling of trees for a proposed tiger safari in reserve.
