Forest Dept in crisis, staff strength reduced to half
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, June 20 2014 : Against the backdrop of retirement of bunches of field staffs of Forest Department, who are entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding and preserving the forest areas of the State, the department is now running with meager work force in absence of necessary attention and intervention from the side of the State Government.

According to an environmentalist, the condition of Reserved Forest Area and other forest areas in different parts of the State is deteriorating day by day.

With the government not filling up various vacant posts which are still lying, the Forest Department has not been able to execute swift actions against rampant illegal activities being carried in the forests.

Thousands of teachers have been already recruited for Education Department for ensuring quality education in the State.

Large numbers of police personnel have been also recruited to facilitate law & order situation but when it comes to recruitment of staff for Forest Department; the government under the leadership of Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh has not taken up any substantial steps to fill up the vacant posts.

This has directly affected smooth administration of the department, the sources said.

Around 20 years back, the government had decided to stop recruitment of employees for various departments due to unstable financial condition in the State.

At that time, the total number of employees in Forest Department was 1, 200.Unfortunately, the number of employees has not increased with the government failing to create new posts to enhance the stretch of its work force.

With the retirement of a large number of Forest Guards and Field Workers, the total strength of employees in the Department has been now reduced to half.

So, entrusting Forest Department with the sole responsibility of safeguarding and protecting the vast forest areas in the State is becoming unjustified.

At present, the Department is running with only 600 employees.

Given this situation, the Chief Minister, who also holds the portfolio of Forest, will not be able to come up with all necessary steps for safeguarding the forests.

If the forests are to be saved and safeguarded from every potential threat, then the posts which are lying vacant should be filled-in and the equipped the Department with latest technologies to ensure proper implementation of its works, the sources suggested.

Since last year up to the month of May this year, the Department has registered a total of 80 cases of illegal cutting of trees, mineral extraction, etc.

These include 41 cases in Imphal West district and 14 in Imphal East district in 2013.Moreover, 6 new such cases were registered in Imphal West district in 2014 and hearings of the cases are going on in court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Imphal West.

More than 100 people have been arrested and taken up legal actions for carrying out illegal activities in forests by Forest Offices opened across the nine districts of the State.

Unless the Forest Department is empowered with the required staffs, infrastructures and other needful, curbing clearance of forests and carrying out illegal activities will be next to impossible, the sources added.

Comment