Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh): The dispute between District Forest Office, Chhatarpur and field officers and employees seems to have refused to die down.
In a recent development, the State Forest Rangers’ Association wrote a letter to the state forest minister, requesting to intervene in the matter.
The rift between the DFO Chhatarpur, Anurag Kumar and field officers has been going on for a long time.
The field officers and employees had staged a protest against Kumar and demanded his transfer, accusing him of misbehaviour. Following protest, DFO Panna was given the charge.
As protests pacified and all officers and employees returned to work, Kumar was again re-instated. As soon as Kumar resumed office, forest staff of the district again began to protest.
Following this, range officers and forest guards were suspended by chief conservator of forest, Chhatarpur Circle and the DFO. The suspended range officers and forest guards approached the High Court against the decision. The Court granted them a stay of suspension.
Sources said that when suspended range officers and forest guards approached the office with the stay order, they were not reinstated.
The State President of Rangers’ Association Shishupal Ahirwar met CCF, Chhatarpur Forest Circle, PPT Titare and demanded that suspension of all forest rangers and forest guards should be revoked. Though Titare assured Ahirwar that he would look into the matter and resolve it, no action has been taken so far.
Ahirwar later wrote a letter to the forest minister, demanding to instruct CCF to follow High Court order and remove the DFO.
When contacted, principal chief forest conservator, Ramesh Gupta said that he would talk to the CCF and instruct him to hear range officers. “The order of the court can’t be disobeyed,” he told Free Press.
