Chennai: Irked over the frequent death of elephants across Nilgiri biosphere and inordinate delays in enforcement of wildlife crime cases, wildlife activists in Tamil Nadu have warned the forest department to fill the vacancies at the earliest. “We are preparing a detailed report on the lapses happening in the forest department and if steps are not taken to address the issues, the report will be sent to the chief minister's special cell seeking action followed by protests,” said Coimbatore-based activist K. Mohanraj.
Activists have already staged protests condemning the death of tusker 'Madhukkarai Maharaj'. Since then, unnatural deaths of elephants have gone unchecked, as there is not adequate staff to manage forest affairs. According to forest department sources, vacancies in the department, particularly in the sensitive Coimbatore and Erode circle, have reached an all-time high of around 40 per cent. For instance, Erode circle has about 80 posts related to rangers, foresters, guards and watchers lying vacant, sources said.
“Lack of field staff is one of the major reasons for increasing wildlife mortality and there is a shortage of biologists and veterinarians in the department. As on date every ranger in Coimbatore takes care of two additional ranges. There are ranger posts lying vacant for more than two years,” a senior forest ranger told Deccan Chronicle. Not only field staff but also at the administrative level there is severe laxity to be seen. There are four District Forest Officers' posts in Coimbatore (Coimbatore, Niligiris - north, Nilgiris — South and Gudalur) of this, only Gudalur has a permanent DFO, whereas other posts are handled through additional charges, said an informed forest officer.
“There are perks, allowances and other benefits available, if you hold on to an additional charge, to avail which some officers accept the additional charge role, but in reality monitoring the large tracts of forests is really tedious and practically not feasible,” the source added.
