BENGALURU: The forest department officials of Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) have expressed deep displeasure over ill-treatment at the hands of municipal and police officials, and facing FIRs whenever there is a tree fall incident resulting in casualty and property damage.
Forest minister Eshwar Khandre has written to Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) to look into the issue.
The minister has contended that due to alleged harassment like the filing of FIRs in connection with tree fall incidents, forest officials working under the GBA on deputation, are feeling demoralized.
“Sometimes the police threaten to file FIR if their palms are not greased. All this is harassment,” said a senior forest staff in the GBA.
A lack of clarity
The department staff have told the minister that now that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is split into five corporations and the required staff will be doubled, there is still no clarity on the role of Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) and Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), and Range Forest Officers who are on Cadre and Recruitment Rules with definite role like overall supervision and countersigning authority, filing FIR and chargesheet and seizing of materials and rescue of wildlife.
Earlier 14 Deputy Range Forest Officers who served in the previous corporation, BBMP, were not under any such rules and still managed to draw salaries from 2009 to till the split.
Two officials have gone back to the forest department, and others have now been placed under different corporations under the GBA, as rules have been framed.
The duties of a DCF or Forest Officer is tree canopy maintenance, implementation of rules through registration of FIRs against tree cutting without permission, compounding (seizing), and counter-signing, that is, signature on files for payments and other fund allocations. However, all these aspects lack clarity under the GBA.
“In case, DCF remains in the GBA and the ACF or RFO is given authority to check for permission for tree cutting for projects in new corporation, there could be gross error and officials could make mistakes, hence all powers and forest related operations have to be either centralised or moved to Karnataka Forest Department,” said a senior forest officer.