Jaipur: The meeting of the special selection committee, proposed for September 24, 2026, to select the next Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force (HoFF) in Rajasthan, has been postponed. In an order issued on September 23, the Department of Personnel cited “unavoidable reasons” for the postponement. The government has not yet announced a new date for the meeting.
The meeting was intended to select a successor to the incumbent PCCF (HoFF), Arijit Banerjee, who is due to retire at the end of October. Several senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers are being considered in the selection process.
Complaint against a contender
Amidst the postponement of the meeting, a complaint filed against one of the contenders has also become a topic of discussion. Tapeshwar Singh Bhati, an advocate and environmental activist from Kota, submitted a representation to Chief Secretary V. Srinivas, requesting that the officer in question be excluded from the selection process until the investigation into the allegations against him is concluded.
The representation also references complaints sent to the Prime Minister’s Office on September 1 and September 9. These complaints raise questions regarding the departmental inquiry into alleged financial irregularities linked to forestry works in Alwar and Baran. Regarding the Alwar case, the representation notes that the estimated amount of the alleged irregularity has risen from approximately ₹17 crore to around ₹21 crore.
However, the government order postponing the selection committee meeting did not cite these complaints as the reason. The allegations made in the complaint have not been independently verified, nor do they constitute a finding of guilt against any officer.
Complaint regarding the AFD project
The representation also mentions another inquiry related to the Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Project in Baran. This project is partially funded by the French development agency, Agence Française de Développement (AFD). The complaint alleges that a previous inquiry was reopened; subsequently, the AFD withheld the No Objection Certificate (NOC) pending clarification and referred the matter to its internal inquiry unit.
What did the government say?
The Office of the Chief Secretary has stated that the selection process for the PCCF/HoFF will be completed within the stipulated timeframe and in accordance with established rules and procedures. As of now, the date for the next meeting of the selection committee has not been announced.
Meanwhile, the names of senior IFS officers remain in contention for the top forestry post. Attention will now focus on when the selection committee meets next and what course of action is adopted regarding the issues raised in the complaints.
