Latest news with #SanjeevChaturvedi
New Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Uttarakhand CAT bench issues contempt notices to Cabinet Secretary, two top officials in Sanjiv Chaturvedi case
DEHRADUN: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)'s Nainital Bench has issued contempt notices to three of India's most senior bureaucrats: Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan, Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra, and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Secretary P. Daniel. Issued on Wednesday, the notices relate to the downgrading of IFS officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi's appraisal report. It is the first case that a Cabinet Secretary has received such a notice in a service matter. The CAT's action, according to sources, stems from a February 23, 2023, order. This order was prompted by Chaturvedi's application seeking documents related to high-profile corruption inquiries he conducted during his tenure as Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO). Chaturvedi alleges his 2015-16 Appraisal Report was downgraded due to these actions, leading him to file his original petition in July 2017. These contempt notices arise from a petition filed by whistleblower IFS officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi in December 2023, alleging non-compliance with previous Tribunal orders. The CAT had earlier, on April 21, 2023, issued 'show cause' notices, questioning "why contempt proceedings shall not be initiated against them for non-compliance of orders dated 23.02.2023 and 23.03.2023 passed by the Tribunal." The next hearing is fixed for July 9. As senior counsel Sudershan Goyal explained to TNIE, "The core dispute involves CAT's February and March 2023 orders, directing officials to provide Chaturvedi with documents related to alleged closures of high-profile corruption enquiries he conducted as Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO)."
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Uttarakhand forest department conserved 2,228 plant species, 120 of them endangered
Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Forest Department's research wing on Friday released its annual report on conserved plant species, and it's greener than ever. From rare orchids to insectivorous plants, a total of 2,228 species have been conserved in the Himalayan state. Among them are 120 endangered species, including the striking White Himalayan Lily and the graceful Tree Fern, with 75 of these listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. These plant species have been conserved through in-situ and ex-situ conservation measures across seven different forest ranges of its research wing --- Haldwani, Jeolikote, Ranikhet, Pithoragarh, Gopeshwar, Dehradun, and Uttarkashi. Ex-situ means conservation of species outside their natural habitats while in-situ means conservation of species in the same habitat where they are found. 'The conserved plant species include 120 species currently listed under threatened/endangered categories, of which 75 species are in Red List of IUCN. Some of these threatened/endangered that are being conserved include White Himalayan Lilly (Lilium polyphyllum), Trayman (Gentiana kurroo), Atees (Aconitum heterophyllum), Seeta ashok (Saraca asoca), Dolu (Rheum webbianum), Patwa (Meizotropis pellita), Himalyan Golden spike (Eremostachys superba) and Tree fern (Cyathea spinulosa),' chief conservator of forests (CCF) and in charge state forest research wing Sanjeev Chaturvedi said. 'The conservation measures are aimed at germplasm conservation of these species in case they disappear from the wild due to any reason. Germplasm conservation means preserving the genetic diversity of a particular plant by collecting its seeds or growing it in its habitat or outside its habitat for preserving its gene pool,' he added. Chaturvedi said the annual report was first released in year 2020, when number of conserved plant species was 1145. 'And in five years, number of plant species conserved by our research wing doubled. The idea behind release of this report is to counter the concept of 'Plant Blindness'. The term coined in 1998 by Elisabeth Schussler and James Wandersee, a pair of US botanists and biology educators, indicates under appreciation of plants – and in a limited interest in plant conservation. Plant conservation not only matters for environmental health but also for human health, in the long run,' Chaturvedi said. Out of these 2228 plant species, there are 528 tree species, 187 herbs, 175 shrubs, 46 bamboo, 88 wild climbers, 12 species of cane, 107 grasses, 192 ferns, 115 orchids, 88 palm, 31 cycads, 290 cacti and succulents, 50 aquatic plants, 29 insectivorous plants, 86 lichens, 118 bryophytes, 14 species of algae and 15 species of air plants. 'In the conserved list, there are 60 species that are endemic to Uttarakhand/Indian Himalayan Region. Endemic species are the species or taxonomic group which is within a restricted geographic area, naturally found only in that particular region,' he said. He added that conserved plants which are endemic to Uttarakhand/ Indian Himalayan Region include Tumri, Jamoi, Moru, Kumaon Fan Palm, Patwa, Emroyi, Ganiya, Bhimal and so on.
