# Third IFS officer in three years seeks VRS in Uttarakhand

2026-10-29T04:14:33+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

Corbett Tiger Reserve director Saket Badola, a 2008-batch IFS officer, has applied for voluntary retirement in October 2026 with about 11 years of service remaining, citing personal reasons. He is the third senior forest officer in Uttarakhand to do so in three years. Manoj Chandran applied for VRS in October 2024 while facing departmental proceedings, and Dhananjay Mohan retired in June 2025, two months before his scheduled retirement. Indian Masterminds reports Badola called his career fulfilling but gave no official reason beyond personal choice. ETV Bharat quotes retired IFS officer Jayaraj describing the exits as ‘growing disillusionment’, while former IAS officer S S Pangti says each case had different circumstances. The trend has also included several IAS and IPS officers leaving service in the state over the past years.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Indian Masterminds frames the three IFS exits as a trend with a detailed narrative on each officer, including the note that Badola has not attributed his decision to departmental pressure, leaving room for speculation. ETV Bharat gives the same facts but adds a longer list of IAS and IPS officers who have taken VRS, and quotes a retired IFS officer who blames ‘growing disillusionment’ and better private prospects, giving the story a more systemic critique. The difference is one of emphasis: Indian Masterminds stays close to the individual circumstances, whereas ETV Bharat broadens the frame to a pattern of demoralisation in the All India Services. A balanced reading would note that three Forest Department exits in three years are an unusual cluster, but the account of a wider ‘exodus’ rests on names of varying recency and is not data on overall service strength.

## Coverage

Coverage: 2 sources, 1 government-critical, 1 neutral
- indianmasterminds.com (neutral report) <https://indianmasterminds.com/news/uttarakhand-ias-ips-ifs-officers-vrs-early-retirement-246413/>
  Leads with trend framing, gives each officer's story, no critical quote from any officer on government
- etvbharat.com (government critical) <https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/uttarakhand-3-ifs-officers-take-voluntary-retirement-in-3-years-enn26102802802>
  Adds retired officer quote on disillusionment, extends list to IAS/IPS, gives systemic angle

This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.

Tags: Corbett Tiger Reserve, Indian Forest Service, Saket Badola, Uttarakhand Forest Department
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