Jaipur: The steering committee Tuesday deferred a decision on the appointment of the next principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and head of forest force (HoFF), with a final decision expected at its next meeting after further inputs are considered, sources said.This was the second meeting to recommend a successor to incumbent HoFF Arijit Banerjee, who is due to retire at the end of Oct. The meeting was initially scheduled for Sept 24 but was postponed due to “unavoidable reasons”, according to the department of personnel (DOP).Three senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers are in contention for the top post.Sources said the officer considered the frontrunner and the most senior among the contenders is facing allegations that require examination.A senior forest official said the committee would take up the matter after receiving the forest department’s response. The next meeting is likely to be held after Banerjee’s retirement.Additional chief secretary (forest) Anand Kumar said, “Details of the next meeting can be provided by the DOP as it convenes the meeting.”Responding to TOI earlier, the chief secretary’s office said, “The PCCF/HoFF selection process will be completed within the prescribed timeline and in accordance with the established rules and procedures.”
