Following an escalating turf battle, the Haryana government shifted the principal chief conservator of forest, Vineet Garg who is the head of the forest force (HoFF) and principal chief conservator of forest-cum-chief wildlife warden, Vivek Saxena. The two top forest officials were shifted on the orders of the chief minister, Nayab Singh Saini.
As per March 26 orders issued by the state government, PCCF-cum-MD, Haryana Forest Development Corporation, Kailash Chand Meena has been given the additional charge of principal chief conservator of forest (HoFF) and PCCF (CEO CAMPA), Navdeep Singh Hooda has been given the additional charge of principal chief conservator of forest-cum-chief wildlife warden. “Posting orders of Vineet Garg and Vivek Saxena will be issued later,’’ the order mentioned. Garg, a 1989 batch IFS officer, retires in May 2026 while Saxena, a 1991 batch IFS officer, would retire in July 2026.
State officials said that confrontation between the two top officials stemmed from a disagreement over jurisdiction concerning authority over national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and offences under the wildlife law.
The flashpoint was probably an inquiry ordered by PCCF (HoFF) Vineet Garg into large-scale tree felling in protected areas, such as Kalesar National Park, which chief wildlife warden Vivek Saxena opposed, maintaining that such matters fell exclusively in the domain of the wildlife wing.
Despite attempts to seek their responses, both officers remained unavailable for comment. Officials said that the public nature of the dispute did not go down well with the state government.