The Uttarakhand principal chief conservator of forests, Raghu Bir Singh Rawat, has sought clarification from the PCCF (Wildlife) and chief wildlife warden SS Sharma regarding his unavailability at either his head office or camp office for the past 10 days.
His absence from his office is being seen as a point of worry at a time when three tiger bodies were discovered in the recent past in the Corbett tiger landscape.
The PCCF told The Pioneer, “If something goes wrong in the Forest department under my purview, then I am answerable and need to know where officials are. The CWW had earlier applied for 25 days earned leave but later asked for the leave to be cancelled on the phone. However, since then he was not available either at his head office or the camp office. If a department official including myself goes anywhere the information has to be public so as to facilitate communication when required,” said Rawat.
Sharma has been eliciting criticism from many wildlife activists for his frequent absence from office. Recently, it was revealed by information procured by PFA Uttarakhand through Right To Information Act that since assuming the charge of chief wildlife warden in October 2011, Sharma has not once visited his head office at Nainital.