Dainik Nation News Portal
The Uttarakhand forest department has recommended suspension of Champawat divisional forest officer (DFO), Ashok Kumar Gupta, for alleged misappropriation of funds. A letter has been sent by the department in this regard to state forest minister Harak Singh Rawat for final approval. The move comes after a 2,000-page investigation report, submitted by IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, found Gupta guilty of illicit felling of trees, extraction of resin and misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 5.63 crore. Gupta was attached to the forest headquarters for the past five months.
Soon after Chaturvedi’s report, a committee of three senior officials, headed by Rajendra Mahajan (former head of forest force), was formed to corroborate the findings. Chaturvedi, in his report, has stated that Gupta had made “irreversible” damage to the environment which can never be assessed and calculated.
“Thousands of permits were illegally issued where monumental felling of trees and disposal of resin took place. Gupta was also caught asking bribe from a contractor,” stated Chaturvedi’s report.
