The State Government has recommended police action against the People for Animals (PFA), Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi for allegedly making false allegations of blatant irregularities in the administration of Corbett national park based on a sting operation.
Maulekhi, on the other hand, has welcomed this development, stating that if the matter is brought under the purview of the police, the police will take necessary action against whoever is responsible for the anomalies.
It will be recalled that PFA had conducted a sting operation in Corbett last year and had alleged various administrative anomalies on the basis of a video of department staff talking about these irregularities.
Maulekhi had cited the sting operation to allege anomalies in management of the canteen, undue benefits being taken by the Corbett honourary warden, serving of alcohol in the national park’s rest houses in blatant violation of the law and improper dumping of garbage.
She had pointed out that garbage was being dumped without segregation behind canteens where monkeys and other animals were being introduced to a diet of rotten processed food which had led to a shift in the behavior and diet of the monkeys, giving rise to conflicts.
The State Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dr Raghu Bir Singh Rawat said that an inquiry into the allegations of anomalies in Corbett had revealed that the allegations were false. “The State Government has recommended action against Maulekhi for falsification. The principal secretary, Forests, S Ramaswamy has written a letter to the State Director General of Police to this effect, though I have not received a copy of this letter yet,” he added.
When asked about this case, the PCCF (Wildlife) and chief wildlife warden SS Sharma said that he was unaware of the issue. Maulekhi has questioned the validity of the inquiry conducted by Corbett deputy director of the allegations made against the administration of Corbett itself.