The Uttrakhand High Court on Monday ordered that a senior Indian Forest Service officer, Rajiv Bhartari will be reinstated as the primary chief conservator of forests.
Following allegations of widespread tree cutting and construction in the Pakhro and Morghatti forest divisions in the Corbett buffer zone, Rajiv Bhartari was removed from his position in November 2021 as part of a major reshuffle in the forest department. He was made the head of the Uttrakhand Biodiversity Board.
A division bench of the high court comprising chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice Alok Verma directed the state government to reinstate Bhartari as the principal chief conservator of the forest by 10 am on Tuesday.
In February, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Allahabad’s circuit bench in Nainital heard a case involving the dismissal of Chief Conservator of Forests Rajiv Bharti and the replacement of Bharti with Vinod Kumar Singhal.
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