Uttarakhand HC asks ex-HoFF to appeal in tribunal against govt order

NAINITAL: The

Uttarakhand

high court on Monday asked

IFS

officer

Rajiv Bhartari

to file an appeal in the central administrative tribunal (CAT) against his removal from the post of principal chief conservator of forests (

PCCF

) in Uttarakhand.

The division bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice RC Khulbe also directed CAT to ensure that the case is taken up on priority and a decision is pronounced on the matter swiftly.

This comes two months after Rajiv Bhartari, who was serving as head of forest force (HoFF) filed a petition in the high court alleging that he was removed from the post in violation of norms.

Bhartari

was replaced by Vinod Kumar Singhal.

Bhartari, a 1986-batch officer of the IFS cadre, was removed from the PCCF’s post on November 25, 2021, and made the chairman of the biodiversity board.

The decision was taken in the wake of the National Tiger Conservation Authority confirming illegal constructions inside the Corbett Tiger Reserve.

Illegal tree felling was also reported in the Pakhro and Morghatti zones of the reserve. Later, state chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered the transfer of 30 forest officers, including Bhartari, chief wildlife warden JS Suhag and chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Anup Malik.

In his petition, Bhartari said that he is the senior-most forest officer in the hill state and rightfully deserves the principal chief conservator of forests post. Bhartari further said that he has an "unblemished" record of 35 years in service. The petition adds that Bhartari sent out four letters to the government in this regard but in vain.