ERODE: Hundreds of anti-poaching watchers (APWs) are pondering over their future as the forest department is collecting details of staff in all forest ranges across the state to implement its decision to privatise recruitment and maintain their posts. According to sources, the GO to outsource APW posts was issued in June 2023, and it will be done by the end of this current financial year.
Principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden (PCCF and CWC) Srinivas R Reddy told TNIE, “We have prepared a list of APWs based on the seniority. Except for those who completed ten years in service, APWs in the list will not go under out sourcing plan. After this, no fresher will be directly selected for APW post. They will be recruited only through private players.”
STR field director K Rajkumar said, “Outsourcing has become the order of the day in all sectors in Tamil Nadu. The forest department decided to adopt it a year ago. Under the scheme, workers will get ESI and PF benefits. Also, the department has recommended to the government to increase the wages of APWs under this scheme which will be implemented in a phased manner.”
The decision has evoked strong opposition from forest staff and elected representatives. A Murugan (name changed), a staff in Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Erode said, “There is a difference between being a government employee and a private agency. If we remain government employees, we can claim job permanency after a certain period. There will be no job security under private agencies. In the forest department, officers are just supervisors. APWs are the ones who work in the field. The government should not privatise recruitment of APW posts.” According to sources, around 200 APWs are working in STR temporarily for salary of Rs 12,500.
PL Sundaram, former MLA of Bhavanisagar, said, “APWs play an important role in forest conservation. They carry out forest and wildlife protection, monitoring the entry of anti-social elements into the forest, chasing away wild animals when they come out of the forest, etc. Youths from poor and tribal families mostly come for this work.”
“The government has started the process of transferring them from the forest department to a private agency. Documents are being obtained from the APWs for this purpose in the STR. This will break their dream of a permanent government job and will also jeopardise forest conservation efforts.” he added.
Rajesh (name changed), an office bearer in the Tamil Nadu Anti-poaching Watchers Association, said, “We learned that documents of APWs are being collected in STR. Our jobs are not permanent and the outsourcing process makes us vulnerable to termination from service.”
A forest officer in STR said, “Many of those who join the forest department as APWs approach the court seeking permanent employment after a certain period. Even when someone is made permanent, the others go to court. A large number of cases are pending in this regard. To avoid this, guidelines were issued in 2019 regarding outsourcing and in 2023, a GO. was issued. This will come into effect by the end of the current financial year. APWs who completed ten years of service till 2019 will not go into outsourcing.”
Forest Minister M Mathiventhan did not respond to calls from TNIE.