TIRUPPUR: A demand has been raised to permanently appoint Anti-Poaching Watchers (APW) and other temporary staff, who have been serving in the forest department for a long time, as forest watchers.
G Joseph, a social activist and a retired forester of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), expressed his grievances, "Anti-poaching guards are appointed temporarily via outsourcing to assist forest guards in the TN forest department. APWs play a vital role in forest protection. Private contractors pay them between Rs 12,500 and Rs 15,500 monthly."
He added that based on a court order, a priority list was prepared to promote approximately 1,119 long serving APW's to forest guards. They are currently on service but according to Joseph, the names of many eligible individuals have been left out of this list.
"Similarly, more than 400 people have been working for a long time across TN in various roles, including deer watchers, eco watchers, and beach and river protection watchers. Many of these workers have been working in the forest department for 5 to 10 years. They are engaged in fieldwork such as forest protection, anti-poaching, and chasing wild animals, including elephants, into the forest area from the inhabitants, and are working 24 hours a day in dangerous environments. Their field experience, forestry knowledge and physical fitness, and their ages (30 to 35), should be considered, and their work should be made permanent," he added.
Official sources allege that the forest department did not require educational qualifications when the staff joined the service 10 years ago. However, now the department requires a 10th pass status. Allegedly many have been excluded from that list due to the lack of that educational qualification.
According to APW sources,"Most of temporary staff belong to tribal communities who have not had a formal education. If the minimum educational qualification of class 10 pass is strictly followed, it will lead to loss of employment of these experienced tribal and local youth who have worked in the forest for many years. Therefore, appropriate special benefits and relaxations should be provided to them considering their work experience, and their jobs as forest watchers must be made permanent by the government ".
B Rajesh, Deputy Director of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (Tiruppur Forest Division), said, "Direct recruitment of APWs through the department was discontinued 10 years ago and they have been outsourced since. However, 1,119 people were appointed on a court-ordered priority basis. Everyone eligible was included in that list.There is no government order to regularize the jobs of those who joined through outsourcing."