Serious allegations leveled against chief wildlife warden and principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) SS Sharma who is also the acting PCCF of Uttarakhand will be checked and acted upon by Sharma himself.
Earlier this year, the additional PCCF (Wildlife) SK Dutt had accused Sharma of failing to initiate action in numerous poaching and wildlife crime cases inspite of being informed about these.In response to this issue being raised with the chief secretary by PFA Uttarakhand, the State administration has asked Sharma to take necessary action on the complaints against his own self.
A letter from deputy secretary Shyam Singh to the PCCF cites PFA Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi’s complaint letter to the chief secretary wherein she has demanded action against encroachment in Rajaji national park by a disputed cold drinks store, the inaction of the chief wildlife warden regarding poaching in the State and his issuance of a no objection certificate for allowing illegal construction in Rajaji national park.
The letter to the PCCF asks him to ensure time-bound action as per the law against these anomalies and inform the administration about this.The PCCF has also been asked to make necessary recommendations in any case where the administration is expected to take action.Reacting to this letter, Maulekhi has now written to the principal secretary, Forests, citing her earlier complaint of corruption in the Forest Department and need for a high level inquiry into the allegations.
“I had complained about the CWW purposely ignoring more than 100 cases related to poaching and the Rajaji national park field director orchestrating a scam for facilitating construction of apartment building. It is an embarrassing situation wherein the administration has written to the PCCF asking him to take necessary action in these cases. Is the administration unaware of the fact that the PCCF himself is also the chief wildlife wardenIJ
“Is the administration expecting that the CWW will recommend action against himselfIJ I had earlier submitted my complaint to the chief secretary on February 15 this year and had then expressed hope that the Forest Department administration was not completely mired in corruption but now it appears as if having any expectation from the Forest Department is akin to wasting time,” she said.