Ranchi, Sept. 11: The Indian Forest Service (IFS) officials are still cut up with the environment and forests department secretary, K.K. Khandelwal, over the latter’s showcause notice to them.

Apologies to principal conservator of forests C.R. Sahay has apparently failed to placate the IFS officials, who have resolved to “ignore” Khandelwal’s showcause notice and approach the chief minister and chief secretary to “fix” the bureaucrat.

The members of Indian Forest Service Association decried at a meeting held today that the environment and forests department secretary was behaving like an autocrat. They alleged that the secretary directly called up the IFS officials posted in the fields to force them to give “favourable reports”. They added that the secretary flouted the set norms by directly seeking explanation from the IFS officials.

On August 18, the IFS officials were asked to review the status of different projects and submit a list of schemes where irregularities had been detected. They also needed to explain under what circumstances such irregularities took place and who were responsible for them.

Khandelwal, according to sources, asked all the 87 IFS officials (right from the principal chief conservator of forests to divisional forest officers) on September 8 why departmental proceedings should not be initiated against them for their failure to submit the inspection reports. They were asked to furnish their reply by September 20.

The common draft of the showcause notice sparked furore among the IFS officials. They also argued that the department secretary cannot showcause them without seeking the consent of the department’s minister and the chief minister.

Sensing trouble, the environment and forests department did some “cover up” exercise on September 10. The department’s deputy secretary, Madan Sengupta, informed the principal chief conservator of forests (vide letter no. 3175) that the showcause notice issued to him had been declared null and void.

But that hardly pacified the IFS officials.

“Why should we submit our reports directly to the department’s secretary. We are accountable to our controlling officers. Can the IAS officials surpass the DGP and seek explanations directly from the IPS officials posted in the field?” said IFS association president L.R. Singh.