Annoyance of the powers that be in Uttar Pradesh with permission given to open one abattoir and expand two, allegedly “without following due process”, was behind Manoj Singh’s sudden retirement as additional chief secretary (ACS) forest , environment and climate change, just seven weeks before retirement?

Manoj Singh, who headed the department since June 2021, was relinquished from his charge and put on the waiting list on Sunday, sending shockwaves through bureaucratic circles here.

Besides, two officials from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) — Anil Kumar Mathur and Vivek Rai — were suspended on Sunday for granting Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) to three alleged slaughterhouses. in serious violation of the rules.

Since the Yogi government came to power in 2017, slaughterhouses have been a sensitive issue as the government focuses on protecting the state’s cattle population.

Hindustan Times accessed key documents that suggested the sudden maneuver by Singh, a 1989-batch IAS officer, was linked to the clearance of two slaughterhouses in central UP and one in western UP — AOV Exports Pvt. Ltd Unnao, Al-Haq Foods Unnao and Al-Nasir Exports Ghaziabad.

The chief minister was annoyed that due process was not followed to give the nod to the slaughterhouses, people with knowledge of the matter in the bureaucracy said.

The matter was related to the opening of one abattoir and the expansion of two, said a senior officer aware of the development.

“In such a case, as per Supreme Court directives, a committee headed by the ACS or secretary, urban development department, first receives a proposal. This committee seeks the approval of the district administration, where the abattoir is proposed, and the animal husbandry department,” the officer said.

“In these cases, no proposal has been sent to the committee,” said the officer who did not want to be named.

The permitting process took place between August and September this year, another person familiar with the matter said.

The move against Singh could be related to the fact that the officials eventually suspended were earlier shielded by some top officers resorting to delaying tactics, other officials familiar with the matter said.

The issue had been going on since the second week of October, when the granting of CTE and CTO to the three slaughterhouses, in gross violation of rules, came to the fore before the state government, officials privy to the development said.

On October 14, Manoj Singh sought an explanation from Anil Kumar Mathur, environmental engineer at UPPCB, and Vivek Rai, director of environment at UPPCB, through a letter (accessed by HT) to UPPCB member secretary. This was perceived as an effort by the then ACS Singh to distance himself from the entire saga, people in the know claimed.

His letter to UPPCB member secretary came four days after chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh on October 10 pointed out anomalies in the issuance of CTOs and CTEs to slaughterhouses.

For now, the responsibility of forest and environment has been given to Anil Kumar-III, a senior officer of the rank of secretary, who already holds the charge of manpower, employment, geology and mining.

Mathur and Rai were attached to the UPPCB headquarters after their suspension.