Tamil Nadu: No more office duty for forest watchers

COIMBATORE: A ten-year ordeal for the Tamil Nadu forest department’s uniformed staff ended on Monday, when Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden Syed Muzammil Abbas directed Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (APCCF), Conservator of Forests and District Forest Officers (DFO) not to engage watchers and guards for office work and security purpose.

Though the staff had been recruited to monitor forests and wildlife movement, monitoring and engaging in fieldwork apart from following the death of wild animals and following court cases related to poaching, some superintendents engage them for security purposes in the DFOs office.

A 50-year-old guard in the Coimbatore forest division said, “Apart from DFO’s office, I have also worked for security in range offices and conservator bungalow for a few days last week. Though my job profile is to ensure the forest is free from poaching, I working elsewhere for over ten years, so, I am unable to go for fieldwork in the forest. This is the condition of several staff like me working in 11 forest ranges, including social forest in Coimbatore forest division.  

“We cannot refuse to do such works, otherwise we will be transferred for going against higher officials’ instruction,” said another guard.

K Sivaprakasam, President of Tamil Nadu Forest Staff Association said, “The PCCF has issued the order soon after we represented, to sort out the problem, thrice during periodical meetings in the last nine months, convened by Supriya Sahu, the Additional Chief Secretary for Environmental Climate Change and Forests. “Forest watchers and guards are under pressure as they are forced to work as security. The PCCF should also take action against the DFOs of Tirupathur, Salem, Dharmapuri, Thiruvannamalai and other senior officials who posted the watchers and guards in their limits as security,” he said.