Nagpur: The state government has dealt a major blow to the 656 square kilometer Navegaon-Nagjira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) spread over Gondia and Bhandara districts by upgrading the post of field director to a Deputy Conservator (DyCF) level.
Earlier, the field director of NNTR was a Conservator (CF), a senior rank officer of the grade above the selection grade. As per the rules, a Forest Officer is promoted as Deputy Conservator (DyCF) after serving for 4 years and as CF after serving for 14 years.
However, while issuing promotion and regular transfer orders of 41 IFS officers, the state government posted an IFS officer of 2013 batch, DYCF Jayaram Gowda R, as the field director of NNTR. Gowda’s subordinate, Pawan Jeff, an IFS officer of the 2018 batch, is also a DYCF. Both will be of the same rank.
Barring NNTR, all tiger reserves in Maharashtra have senior officials at the top. The Field Director of Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) is headed by a CCF rank officer, while other Tiger Reserves such as Sahyadri, Pench-Bor and Tadoba-Andhari are headed by a CF rank officer as Field Director. The state also reduced the importance of Pench by downgrading the post of Pench Field Director from CCF rank to CF level.
CCF and Joint Secretary (Ministry) Ravikiran Govekar said, “Due to acute shortage of officers in senior cadre (like Melghat and Pench) in recent times, it is always better to deploy senior level DECF rank officer of wildlife experience. Regarding keeping the post vacant.
Govekar said, “We need to deploy young but experienced officers in tiger reserves instead of officers nearing retirement. Gowda is senior enough to handle the post of a field director. Some tiger reserves in other states are also headed by DYCF. We had earlier downgraded the FD Post to the nearest one lower grade as per the availability of the officials. ,
On the contrary, retired senior forest officials said that the state has not yet issued notification to downgrade these two posts of NNTR as per rules before issuing the transfer order. Many posts are not included in the list of cadre officers notified in the last cadre review in 2016.
In the transfer order issued on February 28, seven posts have been downgraded or upgraded without mandatory notification. In addition, cadre officers are posted on non-cadre posts for State Service Officers (MFS), which is hindering their promotion in time.
With such an appointment in the NNTR, it appears that the state is not interested in giving unified control to the field director over the 1,241 sq km NNTR buffer zone, which has been on fire for the past six years. The buffer of the park was notified in September 2016. In contrast, the FDCM is doing heavy commercial harvesting in buffer zone areas, leading to human-animal conflict and damage to corridors.
Those working in the area termed it the government’s apathy towards NNTR. In 2019, NNTR was ranked 16th in Management Effective Assessment (MEE), above Corbett and Taboba. “This was made possible because of senior and experienced officers leading the park,” the officials said.
“Secondly, it is humiliating and embarrassing for junior officers when during meetings they come face-to-face with their counterparts from the same batch holding senior positions. A senior person can also hold his own by drawing funds and following the decisions of the management with senior executives,” he said.
After amendment in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, it is mandatory to notify the buffer zone around the Tiger Reserve under the Tiger Conservation Plan (TCP). The buffer zones of Melghat, Pench and Tadoba have already been put under integrated control.
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