By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 10 Dec: A fresh controversy has erupted over the top post in the Uttarakhand Forest Department following the appointment of Ranjan Kumar Mishra as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (HoFF), the head of the department, overriding seniority for the first time in the state. The senior-most IFS officer in the state, BP Gupta, has approached the Uttarakhand High Court against the decision.
It may be recalled that following the retirement of the PCCF and HoFF, Sameer Sinha, Ranjan Kumar Mishra has been recently assigned the responsibility following a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting at the Government level, despite the fact that BP Gupta, a 1992-batch IFS officer who is senior to him in the department, is still in the state forest services. In his petition, Gupta has shared in the court that a 1993-batch officer has been appointed to the post, and the junior officer has taken charge on 1 December. Gupta has moved the High Court, asserting that the supersession of seniority is unjustified.
At present, Gupta holds the charge of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Administration), a position that functions under the HoFF, which would require him to work under a junior officer. During the Civil Service Board meeting, there had also been discussion of removing him from this post and assigning him responsibility for Biodiversity, an independent domain, and an order to this effect has reportedly been issued.
Gupta has claimed that this is the first instance in Uttarakhand where the senior-most officer has not been appointed to the highest post in the Forest Department.
However, controversy surrounding this position is not new. Earlier, Rajiv Bhartari was removed from the HoFF post and his junior, Vinod Kumar, was appointed in his place, though that decision was taken after Bhartari had served in the position for some time. Subsequently, Bhartari had also moved the High Court, which had ordered his reinstatement as HoFF.
Gupta has now filed a petition in the High Court through his counsel, Abhijay Negi, and the matter is being closely monitored. During the hearing, the Court is likely to seek an explanation from the Government for disregarding seniority in the DPC, and may also summon the minutes of the meeting. There is also a possibility that the Court advises Gupta to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal first for appropriate relief.
