* Maharashtra Government issues new guidelines for forest protection
laying down the duties and responsibilities of officers to field-level
staff
By Kartik Lokhande
After a long gap of over 11 years, Maharashtra
Government has decided to revise the forest protection guidelines.
Accordingly, it has declared all the forest beats as ‘highly sensitive’
areas and has laid down in detail duties and responsibilities of Forest
Department officers as well as field-level staff.
The forest protection guidelines were last issued in the year 2003.
Since then, several changes took place in the forest management.
Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act was passed in 2006 granting forest rights to
traditional forest dwellers in various parts of the country. Besides,
certain notifications pertaining to Indian Forest Act and Wildlife
Protection Act were issued in the year 2013. Against this backdrop, said
a Forest Department officer, changes were desired in the forest
protection guidelines.
Accordingly, on Wednesday, Revenue and Forest Department of Maharashtra
Government has issued detailed revised guidelines. An area monitored by a
Beat Guard is considered the lowest unit of forest management. At some
places, it is 700-800 hectares and at others it is as wide as 2,000
hectares. Previously, these forest beats were classified into three
categories -- Normal, Sensitive, and Highly Sensitive. The new
guidelines have scrapped old categorisation and all the forest areas
across the state of Maharashtra have been declared as ‘Highly
Sensitive’. The step has been taken against the backdrop of increase in
encroachments on forest area, attacks on Forest Department officials,
poaching of wildlife, illicit trade of forest produce and wildlife
organs etc.
Interestingly, previously, Beat Guard was entrusted with the
responsibility of his beat. Now, Deputy Conservator of Forest,
Divisional Forest Officer, Sub-Divisional Forest Officer also have been
asked to chalk out an annual programme of their visits to beats in
respective areas and visit every beat in their areas every six months.
It has been made mandatory for these officers to visit at least a beat
every month. If some serious aspects have come to their notice in a
beat, they will have to re-visit that particular beat. Besides,
Divisional Forest Officer (Vigilance) will have to undertake random
inspection of beats.
The guidelines also spell out the aspects to be included in inspection.
The inspecting officers will have to take stock of offences registered
under Indian Forest Act, Wildlife Protection Act, and claims accepted or
rejected under Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act. Other aspects of inspection include
boundaries of forest area, landmarks, records with Forest Guard, record
of seized items, order book, beat map, topo-sheet, diary, condition of
uniform, GPS device, mobile phone, PDA etc. The officers have also been
asked to analyse beat inspection reports every quarter, and issue
necessary instructions to field-level staff.
Saw mills to be
checked regularly
Forest Department officers
have been asked to conduct inspection of saw mills and also check if
they are running as per the terms and conditions laid down at the time
of grant of permission. If illicit tree felling is done and material is
found there, action will be taken against saw mills. Range Forest
Officer has to check at least eight saw mills under his area every
month, Assistant Conservator of Forest should check four saw mills every
month, Deputy Conservator of Forest/Divisional Forest
Officer/Sub-Divisional Forest Officer should check two saw mills every
month. As and when needed, Chief Conservator of Forest also will have to
inspect saw mills. In areas with more number of saw mills, Chief
Conservator of Forest may appoint Special Range Forest Officer to ensure
that all saw mills are checked at least once every year. A quarterly
report of saw mill inspection has to be submitted to Additional Chief
Conservator of Forest (Protection).
Officials not registering
offences to face action
Forest
Guard and Range Officer not registering offence in cases of
encroachments on forest land will have to face stringent action.
Expressing strong displeasure over officials not registering offences
that they come to notice but are in areas outside forest, Forest
Department has asked them to register offence first and then hand over
the case to officer of respective forest area. As per the new
guidelines, offences will be registered in case of old encroachments
also. Besides, responsibility of Range Forest Officer, Assistant
Conservator of Forest, Deputy Conservator of Forest has been fixed as
far as taking a forest offence registered to its logical conclusion.
Other directions
* Regular inter-state protection meeting with officials of neighbouring
states as far as forest area on the border of other states is concerned
* Co-ordination at various levels of Police and Revenue Departments
* 24x7 working of Divisional Control Room
* Proper follow-up of court case
* Rewards to informants
* Action against officials/employees not following up forest offences
* No salary for officials not updating their forest diary for two months
* If there is illicit tree felling, even the top officers will have to
pay a visit to the site within three days of getting information
(14-08-14)
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