Rajasthan’s forest department remains without a regular head after the selection committee meeting to appoint the next principal chief conservator of forests and head of forest force was postponed for the third time on November 6, leaving the state’s forest administration without a confirmed successor to retired officer Arijit Banerjee.
Banerjee retired on October 31. The selection process for his replacement has been delayed since the first meeting was scheduled for September 24 in the chief secretary’s chamber. That meeting was postponed due to “unavoidable reasons”, according to an order issued by the department of personnel. The order did not identify a representation against any candidate as the reason for the deferment.
The latest postponement was not accompanied by a fresh date. A source cited by the Times of India said the reason for the Friday meeting’s postponement was not immediately known. The repeated deferments have left the department without clarity on who will lead the state’s forest administration, the source said.
Three senior Indian Forest Service officers are understood to be in contention for the post. The special selection committee, headed by the chief secretary, is responsible for assessing the eligible officers and recommending a successor. The committee’s decision is expected to determine who will oversee the department’s administrative and forest-management functions.
The selection process has also been complicated by a representation submitted by a green activist to the chief secretary. The representation alleged corruption and irregularities against one of the officers in the race. The allegations have not been independently verified, and the available report does not establish that they caused the latest postponement.
The department personnel order that postponed the first meeting did not cite the representation as the reason for that deferment. No official explanation for the third postponement or a revised schedule had been announced at the time of publication.
The absence of a regular HoFF leaves the state forest department awaiting clarity at its highest administrative level. The next formal step is the rescheduling of the special selection committee meeting and the recommendation of a successor to Banerjee.
