Honorary Warden paid as protection squad member in Odisha; lens on Forest department
BHUBANESWAR: The Forest department has come under scanner for appointing a person as Honorary Wildlife Warden (HWW) and paying him wage as a protection squad member leading to conflict of interest.
Arun Kumar Mendili, who has been appointed as the HWW for Boudh since June last year, is allegedly receiving wage as wildlife protection-cum-anti-depredation squad member from the Forest department. The department reportedly paid him Rs 8,465 in April and Rs 12,694 in May this year.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Boudh Debapriya Kampa admitted that Mendili was being paid wage as a protection-cum-anti-depredation squad member. He, however, said they have stopped paying him and even removed his name from the protection squad member list.
Kampa further explained that Mendili was being paid as a protection squad member before he joined as the DFO of Boudh. The Boudh HWW couldn't be contacted for his comments on the matter. However, wildlife experts pointed out that such appointments could lead to conflict of interest and should be avoided.
"Honorary Wildlife Warden of a district is vested with some powers and he or she is answerable only to the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State. In that sense, the Honorary Wildlife Warden should have independence in authority while dealing with DFOs, conservators and other forest officials of a district," said an expert.
Besides, the DFO is for a division while HWW is for a district that might have more than one forest division. “If an HWW is finding employment as a watcher or protection squad member in a division, his or her access and authority in that division may get compromised and the HWW concerned might not be able to question the DFO of the particular division which is a potential conflict of interest,” he added.
The Chief Wildlife Warden also could not be reached for comments. Notably, the State government had notified appointment of 41 HWWs on June 24 last year, almost a year after the term of their predecessors ended.