By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 25 Aug: In a major administrative overhaul, the Uttarakhand government has released the long-awaited transfer list of Indian Forest Service (IFS cadre) officers. The transfers had been pending due to prolonged deliberations over key positions though a major overhaul was expected immediately after Sameer Sinha was promoted as PCCF and HoFF.
Sinha will now be working with a reconstituted team to steer departmental operations. Some changes were also necessitated due to sudden deputation of several senior officers including that of Additional PCCF Nishant Verma who has again gone on Central deputation, this time with CAMPA project in New Delhi. The transfers ordered are wide ranging covering the forest headquarters, state secretariat, field postings, and deputation appointments, which indicates a comprehensive restructuring aimed at streamlining forest governance.
Head of the Forest Force (HoFF) and PCCF Sameer Sinha will continue to oversee CAMPA, while the additional charge of Conservator of Forests, Nodal Officer, has been withdrawn from Ranjan Kumar Mishra. Neena Grewal has been deputed to the Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation, and SP Subuddhi has been entrusted with the additional responsibility of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Nodal Officer for Forest Conservation. In the state secretariat, Kahkasha Naseem is being replaced by Kalyani, who will now handle the dual charge of Additional Secretary, Forest, and Yamuna Circle. Naseem has been deputed to Watershed (Jalagam).
Sushant Patnaik has been assigned the additional charge of Forest Fire and Disaster Management. Tejaswini Patil has been relieved of her role as Chief Conservator of Forests and Director of Forest Training, and will now serve as Chief Conservator of Forests, Working Plan, and Kumaon Chief. Sanjeev Chaturvedi’s Working Plan responsibilities have been withdrawn, and he has been appointed as Chief Conservator of Forests, Director of Forestry Training Academy. It may be recalled that as head of Working Plan, Chaturvedi had exposed several scams within the forest department recently and according to the observers, his transfer comes very much on expected lines, in view of how the department functions. Dheeraj Pandey has been named the new Garhwal Chief.
Nitish Mani Tripathi, previously posted in Biodiversity, has been appointed Chief Conservator of Forests, South Circle, replacing TR Biju Lal, who now assumes charge as Member Secretary of the Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board. Pankaj Kumar has been shifted as Conservator of Forests, Research, and has been relieved from his earlier post as Director, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. Chandrashekhar Joshi, formerly DFO of Nainital, has been appointed In-charge Conservator of Forests, North Kumaon, while Akash Gangwar takes over as the new DFO of Nainital.
Vaibhav Kumar, DFO of Haridwar, has been transferred to Chakrata, while Swapnil, previously DFO Garhwal, has been posted to Haridwar. Diganth Nayak has been appointed DFO of Narendra Nagar, replacing Jeevan Mohan, who now takes charge as DFO of Lansdowne. Abhimanyu has been transferred from Chakrata and posted as DFO Garhwal. Sarvesh Kumar has been appointed DFO of Kedarnath, Dhruv Singh Martolia as DFO of Ramnagar, and Tarun S as DFO of Kalagarh, replacing Rahul Mishra.
Mahateem Yadav has been transferred from the post of Deputy Director, Rajaji Tiger Reserve, and appointed Deputy Conservator of Forests, Nanda Devi National Park. Aditya Ran has been made DFO of Bageshwar, Rajat Suman as DFO of Rudraprayag, and Pranali Ramesh has been given charge as Deputy Conservator of Forests, Forest Conservation. Naresh Kumar has been transferred and appointed as Additional Principal Conservator of Forests, JICA
