The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is claiming to have been fighting corruption, Congress MLA and the leader of the opposition in Assam assembly, Debabrata Saikia, has written to the state governor Gulab Chand Katari about the Himanta Biswa Sarma government’s recent appointment of a recently retired controversial Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer as special chief secretary (forest).
The officer M. K. Yadava, against whom there have been several allegations of corruption and wrongdoing in Assam, had retired as the state’s principal chief conservator (PCCF) this past February 19, and also as the head of the forest force (HoFF).
However, the Sarma government at once re-engaged him as the special chief secretary (forest) for a period of one year. Yadava is widely seen in the state as close to Sarma since his stint at the Congress.
Also read: Assam Forest Official Replaced 2 Days After The Wire’s Report on Misuse of Funds for Kovind Visit
In the letter to the governor – copies of which have been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office among others – Saikia has pointed out ten counts on which Yadava should not have been appointed by the government, including underlining allegations of tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs) while he was serving as the managing director of AEDCL-AMTRON, a state-owned company that supplies these machines for the general elections. Sarma was then the AMTRON chairman.
Saikia’s reference was to 2009 when the state’s opposition parties, primarily the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), now an ally of the BJP in the state, had expressed concerns over EVM tampering under Yadava.
“While the decision to appoint Shri. M.K. Yadava as Special Chief Secretary is violative of Rule. 8 of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954, and the DoPT’s instructions on re-employing retired AIS and Central Services officers to Senior Duty Posts, on merits alone this decision is questionable,” Saikia wrote.
In March 2023, following an RTI-based report in The Wire about using funds for tiger conservation at the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) by Yadava’s office to host then president Ram Nath Kovind, the Sarma government had issued a circular stating that he had been asked to step down from the post of the principal chief conservator of forests and the head of the forest force. It turned out to be a temporary measure as the issue had gained heat in the state then.
Also read: ‘Rs 49k for Tea’: How Assam Govt Spent Rs 1.6 Crores From Kaziranga Funds to Host Ram Nath Kovind
Pointing out this particular incident during Kovind’s visit, and also that there have been “numerous (other) allegations” against Yadava “for misusing and abusing his power and using his position to support dubious activities during his service innings,” Saikia, in the letter, underlined that “his appointment has sent a malefic signal to the Indian Administrative Service and Indian Forest Service Cadre in Assam, and is being resented by one and all, including the PCCF, Wildlife.”
Yadava’s appointment by the Sarma government comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been claiming at public rallies about carrying on his ‘drive’ against corruption and accusing the opposition of indulging in it.
Yadava was in the news in October 2022 too when local activists had filed a police complaint against chief minister Sarma and Isha Foundation’s Jagadish Vasudev known as Sadhguru, seen close to the BJP, for having entered the Kaziranga National Park at night for a safari in spite of standing orders against it. Yadava, then the state’s chief warden of forests, had issued a special order to open the park gates for the VIP guests.
Below are the ten counts of alleged misuse of power as mentioned by the Opposition leader in the letter to the governor, urging Raj Bhawan’s intervention in reconsidering Yadava’s appointment by the Assam government in “the larger interest of our people and the state”.
1. Shri. M K Yadava was the prime accused in case of the unauthorized diversion of 44 hectares of reserved forest land to set up the Assam Police’s Commando Battalion in Hailakandi in violation of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. When the National Green Tribunal (NGT) took suo-moto cognizance of against (of) the illegal diversion, Shri M.K. Yadava followed it up by filing a false affidavit before the NGT which said that the land in question shall be utilized solely for erecting tents for the commandos, whereas the Google Earth Imagery showed substantial concrete structures. In fact, Shri. M.K. Yadava was involved in multiple illegal diversions of reserved forest lands.
2. During his tenure as the Director, Kaziranga National Park, a record number of 44 rhinos were poached within a span of 25 months.
3. As PCCF, Wildlife and PCCF & HoFF, Shri. M.K. Yadava was totally apathetic in ensuring that the animal sensors installed at the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve as per honouable NGT’s orders functioned properly. They were made functional only during the VVIP visits, defeating their very purpose. The sensor cameras placed at Kanchanjuri Corridor (Maloni) were removed long time ago. The absence of speed checks resulted in increased number of road accidents involving the wildlife of Kaziranga.
4. During his tenure, on September 23, 2021 (The World Rhino Day), about 2,500 rhino horns, said to be the world’s largest stockpile, were destroyed ostentatiously to bust a myth that the horns had a miraculous medicinal value. But doubts were expressed by several people that it was (they were) mostly fake horns that were burnt during the process.
5. Huge misappropriation of funds from the Kaziranga Tiger Conservation Foundation and Corpus on the pretext of His Excellency, President of India’s visit to Kaziranga came to light during his tenure.
6. His involvement in rigging the Rhino Population Estimation 2022 figures was alleged, causing significant embarrassment to the Central and State Governments internationally. Numbers which were not supported by documentary evidence were announced.
7. Shri M.K.Yadava also served as the managing director of the Assam Electronics Development Corporation (AEDCL-AMTRON) for a long period. In fact, there was resistance from him whenever he was transferred out of AMTRON for reasons best known to him.
8. During 2009, while Shri. M.K. Yadava was serving AEDCL-AMTRON as its managing, AMTRON was given the responsibility of supplying EVMs for the general elections. The opposition parties, mainly Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), had raised concerns over tampering of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) with Shri. M.K. Yadava’s involvement. Interestingly, the present Chief Minister, Sri Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was the Health Minister at that time, was also the Chairman of AMTRON.
9. During the same period, financial irregularities amounting to crores of rupees came to light in what is known as “Thin Client Scam” in Assam Secretariat. In the name of installing LAN, Servers and Thin Clients in Assam Secretariat, huge amounts were allegedly misappropriated. It is learnt that at least two chief secretaries had put it in writing regarding Shri M.K. Yadava’s direct involvement, and one of them suggested that Shri. M.K. Yadava should be dismissed from service.
10. Further, during the incumbency of Shri. M.K. Yadava as managing director, AEDCL- AMTRON, the PSU was vested with the responsibility of conducting exams for government recruitment. However, on account of allegations regarding large-scale irregularities, and protests by the unemployed youth in the state, the Government of Assam had to eventually hand over the responsibility to the Dibrugarh University.