Whistle-blower Sanjiv Chaturvedi denies meeting Uttarakhand minister
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, currently serving at a forest research institute, has been reportedly ‘sidelined’ ever since he joined Uttarakhand cadre last year.
Whistle-blower officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS), Sanjiv Chaturvedi denied meeting Uttarakhand forest minister Harak Singh Rawat, a day after HT had reported that Chaturvedi had met Rawat over ‘service issues’. Chaturvedi asserted he has never met the forest minister ‘personally’.
“It is against my principle (to meet the minister personally). Around half of my tenure has been without an assignment but I never met any politician to seek assignment,” he said in a written statement. He also stated that on that particular day, he was travelling to Gopeshwar.
Chaturvedi, currently serving at a forest research institute, has been reportedly ‘sidelined’ ever since he joined Uttarakhand cadre last year. However, in a surprise move, the state government assigned him to probe illegal felling of pine trees in Champawat forest division .
The official who has been known for exposing corrupt practices during his previous tenure with the Haryana government and later as chief vigilance officer at Delhi’s AIIMS, has already started the probe. The assignment was given to Chaturvedi when Rawat was not in the state.
Without confirming if the meeting took place, Rawat told Hindustan Times, “I have no idea what he (Chaturvedi) is saying….he has met me in the past at Ramnagar when I was there to attend a meeting.”