Three officials left the environment minister’s office in one day

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav. | Photo credit: PTI

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on July 3 issued three dismissal orders to officials from the office of minister Bhupender Yadav, relieving them of their duties with immediate effect.

The appointment of Ayush Saran as Additional Private Secretary to the Minister has been terminated. Shailesh Kumar Singh of the Central Secretariat, who also served as Additional Private Secretary, has been “prematurely repatriated” to his parent cadre, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), with an “extended cooling off period”. Amar Singh, a 2010-batch Indian Revenue Service (IT) officer and private secretary to the minister, has been repatriated to his parent cadre, the revenue ministry, on administrative grounds.

All the three orders were issued in accordance with the DoPT Office Memorandum dated July 2, 2026 and with the approval of the concerned authority. Each was signed by Vibhuti Panjiyar, a deputy minister in the government of India, according to an order verified by The Hindu.

Mr. Saran was immediately relieved of his duties. Mr. Shailesh was directed to report to the Department of Transport and Mr. Amar to report to the Department of Revenue. Copies of the orders have been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Secretariat and the respective parent unions.

“It is unprecedented as three officials have been repatriated on the same day,” a senior environment ministry official told The Hindu.

The reasons for the action were not stated in the orders and remained unknown.

The Hindu has asked the environment ministry for a comment. No further details were available, according to a spokesperson.

Former Environment Minister and Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh wrote on X: “The news of the sacking of four members of the staff of the Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change is shocking. It is no mystery how such appointments are even happening under the Modi regime. Can there be so much smoke without fire?”

Published – 7 Jul 2026 16:04 IST