UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has sacked the principal chief conservator of forest (wild life) SK Upadhaya for dereliction of duty.
The Indian forest service officer has been held responsible for the death of lioness in lion safari project in Etawah, the home district of the chief minister.
CM has also announced to constitute a high level committee headed by retired IAS officer and former principal secretary of the forest department VN Garg.
The committee will fix the responsibility of the other officers of the wild life department and action would be taken against them after the receipt of the report by the state government.
An official spokesman said here on Saturday the officer has been punished for his failure to discharge his duties like the maintenance of the wild life sanctuaries and drying up of the ponds in bird sanctuaries.
The spokesman said the lioness brought from Gujarat was ill for some time and was under treatment of a doctor from Gujarat Dr Bhuva. He said the principal chief conservation of wild life did not pay adequate attention in the treatment of the ailing lioness.
Moreover the ponds in Nawabganj (Unnao) Sandi in Hardoi and Kannauj b had dried up which had affected the arrival of the migratory birds. Besides this, the spokesman said the officer was also found to be careless in maintenance of the other wild life sanctuaries in the state.