KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, Sept 22: Jharkhand is considered as one of the states having dense forest cover. But the existing situation in the state forest department indicates the forests may be bereft of greenery soon.
Absence of an adequate number of forest officials like rangers and Foresters, lack of coordination between Rangers and junior staff and connivance between officials and timber mafia are some of the main reasons behind the warning forest cover in Jharkhand.
DFOs in Place, But Rangers Missing
An instance of the dwindling forest cover is the forest divisions under Kolhan, comprised of the twin districts of Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts.
There are six forest divisions in Kolhan where only five Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) are posted.
Saba Alam of Jamshedpur division is incharge of the Seraikela forest division also. The remaining four divisions like Podahat, Kolhan, Chaibasa and Saranda have exclusive DFOs.
But so far as the number of Rangers is concerned, the situation is horrible.
In Kolhan, under Regional Chief Conservatory of Forest (RCCF), there are 54 sanctioned posts for the Rangers, but at present, only 10 rangers are posted. Moreover, of these 10 Rangers, five are on extension, meaning only five Rangers are effectively working.
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Rangers on Extension Under Suspicion
In the forest department, post of Rangers is very very important. Rangers are supposed to act as an indispensable link between DFOs and field staff like Foresters, Sub-foresters and Forest guards.
The point is not that protection of forest must be getting affected due to a shortage of Rangers, but the reason is far more serious.
The Rangers, especially the ones posted on extension, are said to work wishfully and are suspected to have nexus with the timber mafia.
According to subordinate forest staff, if a forest guard stops any timber-laden truck during his foot patrolling duty inside the forest, he is taken to task and scolded by Rangers.
“Not that each and every subordinate staff do work honestly, but those who work sincerely and diligently have to face the wrath of the rangers. They are even threatened to be suspended if they seize any timber-laden truck without informing them,” said subordinate staff while talking to The Jharkhand Story.
The staff pointed out the examples of the wishful acts of the Rangers on extension are plenty.
According to sources in the forest department, the Rangers on extension tend to act wishfully because they don’t have any accountability, unlike the ones in service.
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No Appointments in Nearly Four Decades
According to the office of RCCF, Kolhan, the last time an appointment for the post of Rangers was made during Bihar regime in the year 1987.
“Though the department needs an adequate number of Rangers, the state government has not made the appointment of Rangers after 1987. Were there an adequate number of Rangers, the percentage of forest cover in Jharkhand would have been much higher than the existing 29 per cent,” said an official requesting anonymity while talking to The Jharkhand Story.
