(Image Credit: Think Wildlife Foundation)
NEW DELHI: An Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and his wife, who works at the Supreme Court, are under fire for building a house on disputed land inside the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of Panna Tiger Reserve.
Villagers, activists, and even internal forest department records have flagged the construction for more than three years, but officials failed to stop it. Only now, after a spate of complaints and media attention, has the Madhya Pradesh forest department asked the couple for an explanation.
The Daily Guardian has accessed petitions, official correspondence, and activist complaints that show how the matter has been raised repeatedly since 2022, yet decisive action was delayed.
The controversy began in August 2022, when villagers from Rajgarh (Typurian beat, Chandranagar range) filed petitions against hotel-style construction in Compartment 667, Khasra No. 1841. They alleged that the couple, using their influence, had encroached on forest and government land while also cutting into land earlier allotted to Dalit families. Villagers said the construction blocked their traditional pathway to the Ken river at Hatauda Ghat, restricting access to water for both residents and cattle.
They followed up with more petitions in November 2022, but no action was taken.
Due to the repeated follow up by the villagers, in November 2024, the then Field Director of Panna Tiger Reserve admitted in writing that illegal construction was underway without government approval. A departmental note dated 13 November 2024 confirmed that private parties were building on 8.388 hectares of disputed land in Khasra No. 1841/1/1, 1841/4/1/1, 1841/4/3/1 and 1841/4/3/2. The letter ordered a site inspection and a factual report.
Yet, the construction continued.
On 11 September 2025, the current Field Director Naresh Kumar Yadav again flagged “unauthorised activities” in the eco-sensitive zone, including homestay/resort construction and use of illegal saw machines, and circulated this to senior officials.
The following day, Bhopal based noted wildlife activist Ajay Dubey sent a detailed complaint to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), alleging that the said IRS officer B Srinivas Kumar and his wife Himani Sarda were behind the project. He claimed that parts of the land were originally forest land or had been allotted to weaker sections, and called for an SIT probe. He also accused former Field Directors, including Uttam Sharma and Anjana Tirki, of ignoring earlier complaints and shielding the accused.
Dubey pointed out that on 9 September 2025, a forest team inspected the site, seized an illegal saw machine and construction material, but still no FIR was filed.
In a reminder sent on 16 September 2025, Dubey went further — alleging that senior officers had improperly sent two forest staffers to Delhi to give explanations before Central Empowered Committee (CEC) member Chandra Goyal, even though the CEC had issued no written summons. Calling it “protection of offenders,” Dubey demanded action against Goyal as well.
Speaking to The Daily Guardian, Dubey said: “I am seeking strict action not only against CEC member Chandra Goyal, but also against all the forest officers who were posted in these reserves and failed to act despite repeated complaints. Their negligence has encouraged illegal construction and harassment of locals.”
With mounting pressure, the forest department has now asked the couple to clarify whether the structure is a commercial resort or, as they claim, a personal post-retirement home.
In their response to the Panna Tiger Reserve Director, the officer and his wife have reportedly maintained that they have done nothing wrong. They said they had submitted all the required documents, obtained the necessary permissions, and legally converted the land from agricultural to residential use before construction. According to them, the property is a private residence and not meant for commercial activity.
Kumar, in his response to this newspaper, said that they have not broken any law. "We have submitted our response to the authorities and we have full faith that due process of law will be followed.
Panna reserve director Yadav too was not available for comments.
The Panna episode is not unique. Earlier this year, on 21 March 2025, The Sunday Guardian, sister concern of the Daily Guardian, published a report titled “Illegal resorts in Pench Tiger Reserve linked to money laundering”, exposing how benami transactions were being used to develop resorts and cottages inside another of Madhya Pradesh’s premier tiger reserves.
According to the report, the Benami Prohibition Unit (Income Tax Department) identified at least three such properties in Pench’s Seoni district:A 7.86-hectare plot in Village Kohka with a semi-finished godown, provisionally attached in 2022, A 1.35-hectare land-cum-resort in Village Avargani Raiyat with a restaurant, four cottages, and 20 teak trees, attached in December 2022 and a 0.63-hectare resort in Village Turia, provisionally attached in 2021, briefly released by a Supreme Court order but later re-attached after the ruling was recalled.
Locals told the newspaper that such projects could not come up without at least tacit approval from forest and revenue officials, pointing to either corruption or collusion.
