GUWAHATI
The Assam government on Wednesday cancelled a transfer-posting order involving three Indian Forest Service officers after netizens pointed out that one of them was suspended on charges of involvement in a sand mining scam.
An August 14 order signed by Environment and Forest Secretary, Mahmood Hassan, announced the transfer-posting of Vaibhav C. Mathur, Rajen Choudhury, and Rajib Kumar Das.
While Mr. Mathur, the Director of Manas Tiger Project, was transferred to replace Mr. Choudhury as the Conservator of Forest of the Lower Assam Social Forestry Circle, the latter was posted as the Conservator of Forest of the Eastern Assam Circle.
Mr. Das, the Forest Utilisation Officer, was promoted as Conservator of Forest and posted as the Director of Manas Tiger Project in place of Mr. Mathur.
But on Wednesday, an order signed by Additional Chief Secretary (Environment and Forest) R.S. Prasad cancelled the previous order with immediate effect.
“No officers mentioned in the (August 14) order shall move from their respective places of posting until further orders,” the order said.
Mr. Das was suspended in 2018 for alleged involvement in a sand mining scam when he was the Divisional Forest Officer in eastern Assam’s Golaghat Forest Division. He landed in the net of the State’s Bureau of Investigation and Economic Offences after being absconding for some time.