E-Paper
Delay in promotion affecting forest protection: Union
THERE HAS been inordinate delay in issuance of orders of promotion of 29 range officers in the State which should have been issued by December 2005 end and this has adversely affected government works and it is breeding frustration among the rangers.
THERE HAS been inordinate delay in issuance of orders of promotion of 29 range officers in the State which should have been issued by December 2005 end and this has adversely affected government works and it is breeding frustration among the rangers.
In this connection, a departmental promotion committee’s (DPC) meeting was convened on February 21, 2005, and select list of 56 rangers was prepared for promotion. But still, promotion orders of 29 rangers were yet to be issued for which 31 posts of assistant conservator of forest (ACF) are vacant.
Talking to the Hindustan Times, State Forest Range Officers (Gazetted) Association vice-president R B Siddh said that in the DPC meeting select list was prepared for promotion to the post of ACF, which was based on vacancies.
He regretted that promotion orders, supposed to be issued immediately after the DPC meeting, were still awaited. Till date,
promotion orders of only 27 rangers were issued against the names of 56 rangers in the select list.
He said that delay was at the Secretariat level. Siddh maintained that concerning departmental officers had accepted during dialogue with the Rangers’ Association that posts of ACF were vacant.
He regretted that it was unfortunate that four range officers of 1976-1978 batch were working on the same post on which they were appointed, as they had not been promoted even once in their service period.
Thus, there were many rangers who had not been promoted in their service period of about 26 years. The total sanctioned posts of ACFs in the State were 375 but against this number, 299 ACFs were appointed in the State.
Siddh revealed that at present 76 posts of ACF were vacant in the State, which was adversely affecting departmental working.
He further said that out of these posts 45 posts of ACF were supposed to be filled by direct recruitment and 31 posts were to be filled by promotion for which there were 29 eligible rangers.
He regretted that no direct recruitment had been made on the post of ACF from the last 10 years. The proposal on creation of 87 new posts of ACF in the State was awaiting the State Government approval from the last three years but the government was not showing any interest in it, he added.
After the DPC meeting of February 21, 2005, first promotion orders were issued on august 3, 2005, for promotion of 24 rangers.
Siddh opined that there was unnecessary delay of six months in these orders. The next order was issued on December 15, 2005, which was for promotion of only one ranger. He said that one ranger was promoted superseding two senior rangers.
The Rangers Association had brought this issue to the knowledge of the Forest Minister. Again, orders of promotion of two senior rangers were issued in January 2006, he added.
He averred that there was no reason for delay in issuance of orders but in the absence of sufficient number of ACFs, illicit felling of trees, poaching, illicit transportation of wood and encroachment were going on unabated in the State.
