In a major development, Mahendra Kumar Yadava, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) & Head of Forest Force, Assam, has been removed as the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW).
Sandeep Kumar, PCCF (Wildlife and Bio-diversity) cum Project Director, Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Society, has been appointed as the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW).
An order issued by the Secretary of Environment and Forest Department, Assam, read, “In the interest of public service, Sri Sandeep Kumar, IFS (RR: 1989), Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife and Bio-diversity) cum Project Director, Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Society, shall henceforth hold the charge of Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) with immediate effect, until further orders.”
The order further read, “Sri Mahendra Kumar Yadava, IFS (RR:1989), Principal Chief Conservator of Forest & Head of Forest Force, Assam, holding the additional charge of Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) shall hand over the charge to Sri Sandeep Kumar, IFS, immediately.”
Last year, Mahendra Kumar Yadava, an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 1989 batch, took over as PCCF and Head of Forest Force (HoFF) of the state replacing Amit Sahai, who retired on May 31, 2022.
Yadava landed in controversy after a report cropped up that Tiger Conservation Fund (TCF) was indiscriminately spent for non-permissible works in Kaziranga National Park (KNP).
Notably, former President Ram Nath Kovind visited the national park in February last year and as per sources, the two-day visit cost the park authorities a whopping Rs 1.64 crores. The amount was spent from the corpus meant to be used for the conservation of tigers.
The shocking details of the former president’s visit to the national park’s expenditure and its subsequent cost covered using the government’s funds have stirred controversy. According to a response to an RTI application filed by wildlife activist Rohit Choudhury, around Rs 1.1 crore was spent on former President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit in February last year.
