M Kamal Naidu, former head of the forest department in undivided Andhra Pradesh and the first civilian to have received the peacetime military gallantry award of Shaurya Chakra, passed away in Hyderabad on Wednesday. He was 79. He is survived by his wife Rohini Naidu, son Srikanth Naidu and daughter Swathi. Kamal Naidu's last rites are scheduled to be performed at the Maha Prasthanam crematorium in Jubilee Hills on Thursday. Naidu was the principal chief conservator of forests in Andhra Pradesh from 1995 to 1996 and was well-known in wildlife and forest conservation circles for his efforts to protect forests and wildlife. He received the Shaurya Chakra for gallantry, an unusual award for a civilian after he was shot at by Naxalites and received serious injuries in 1972 during an operation of clearing illegal cultivation in the forests of erstwhile Karimnagar district. He had also worked as the director of the National Zoo in New Delhi.