Whistleblower IFS officer donates Rs 3L travel allowance to CM relief fund

Dehradun: Whistleblower IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi has donated over Rs 3 lakh, earned as official travel and tour allowances during fieldwork, to the CM’s Relief Fund. The amount was accrued during visits to remote and hilly regions of Uttarakhand as part of biodiversity conservation initiatives led by the forest department’s research wing.

Chaturvedi is currently serving as chief conservator of forests and holds the charge of director of the Uttarakhand Forestry Training Academy in Haldwani.In a communication addressed to head of forest force Ranjan Mishra and endorsed to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, he sought release of the amount to the relief fund, citing the “satisfaction of serving Dev Bhoomi and conserving its flora and fauna as his primary reward.”The sum pertains to 447 days of official travel undertaken between Dec 2016 and Aug 2025, which was due to be reimbursed to him.

He has requested that the entire amount be transferred to the relief fund.Chaturvedi spent over 300 days on research-related official travels that brought recognition to the state forest department. His work, often involving travel across glaciers and rugged terrain, led to initiatives such as the world’s first lichen garden in Munsyari, the world’s highest-altitude Miyawaki plantation, and India’s highest-altitude herbal and alpine gardens above 10,000 feet. These efforts earned appreciation from the ministry of environment, forest and climate change and the CM’s office.Earlier, Chaturvedi had donated Rs 20 lakh from his Ramon Magsaysay Award prize money to the PM’s National Relief Fund, among other contributions, taking his total donations for social causes to around Rs 30 lakh.