Chief wildlife warden's ouster stirs row

CHANDIGARH: The transfer of Punjab chief wildlife warden Gurbaaz Singh to an insignificant post and his replacement by an officer facing a criminal complaint and not of a rank suitable to hold the post has plunged the forests and wildlife preservation department into a controversy.
Singh was transferred on Monday to the post of chief conservator of forests (CCF), information and extension, swapping places with Dhirendra Singh, who has been given "current duty charge" as the new chief wildlife warden.The orders have been issued by the minister for forests and wildlife, Arunesh Shaukar.
Sources in the department said Dhirendra was not of CCF rank as three meetings of the department promotion committee had got held up on various issues. There was also a pending criminal complaint in the Mohali court of judicial magistrate, first class, Jaspinder Singh, against him. All over India, the post of chief wildlife warden, who is the technical advisor to state government and heads the department, is held by Indian Forest Service officers of the rank of either principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF), additional PCCF or CCF.
The state forests and wildlife department has no shortage of IFS officers holding these senior ranks and they include H S Gujral, Kuldeep Singh, M P Rai, Kuldeep Kumar, Jatinder Sharma, R K Luna and M S Dhillon, the sources said. The other anomaly that will arise in these orders issued is that Dhirendra will occupy a post higher than H S Grewal, who is conservator (protected areas and parks) in the office of the chief wildlife warden. Both Grewal and Dhirendra belong to the same batch and enjoy the same pay scale.
In a similar vein, the top bosses have ordered the posting of Saurabh Gupta as conservator of forests, Ferozepur circle, even though Gupta does not hold the rank of conservator and has been given "current duty charge" for reasons best known to the powers that be, sources pointed out.
However, sources close to Dhirendra pointed out that his promotion had been held up on flimsy grounds and that he had been holding even his previous post on "current duty charge" as CCF. The sources said that there was 'little choice' for a suitable chief wildlife warden among the other candidates holding the appropriate rank.
When contacted, Shaukar said he was "busy in a function and could not give any comment".