It seems that instead of awarding an officer for his good work, the Karnataka government has punished Assistant Conservator of Forests (Bengaluru Urban) Ravindra Kumar, with a sudden transfer.

Ravindra Kumar, credited with recovering 130 acres of forest land from private encroachments, has been transferred out of his position, though his replacement has only six months left in the service. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who heads the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, signed his transfer order on October 5, and has not given any further posting.



Highly placed sources in the Forest Department confirmed the development. "It looks like the transfer has been made at the behest of the encroachers. Otherwise, there is no reason for the transfer,” a senior officer told TNM.



Environmentalists are angry, and allege that the transfer order was because of political pressure rather than anything else.