The Uttarakhand Forest Department is facing a severe shortage of Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers, leading to widespread mismanagement of cadre posts. Positions designated for specific ranks are currently being handled by officers of higher ranks across the board, disrupting the administrative structure of the department. The root cause is the dwindling number of officers available to serve, and this shortage is projected to worsen in the near future.
As per official figures, the forest department has 69 sanctioned cadre posts for All India Service officers, but only 43 IFS officers are currently available in the state. Though the state has a sanctioned strength of 70 IFS officers, the effective number has been reduced due to multiple reasons. At present, five officers are on central deputation and ten are serving on state deputation. One officer retired last month, while another has stopped attending office after applying for voluntary retirement (VRS). Additionally, an IFS officer is under dismissal proceedings and has been inactive for a long period. Nine new IFS officers are on probation and undergoing training.
Despite the existing scarcity, yet another officer, Mr. Nishant Verma, APCCF, has been cleared for central deputation. He will now serve as Joint Chief Executive Officer in Central CAMPA for the next five years.
The situation is further compounded by the upcoming retirement of four senior-most officers in 2025—Chief Conservator of Forests Dhananjay Mohan, Sameer Sinha, B.P. Gupta, and Girija Shankar Pandey. These retirements will leave only 38 IFS officers in service by the end of next year. If the nine IFS trainees currently undergoing training return by then, the count may slightly improve but will still fall short by 18 officers compared to the sanctioned strength.
Of the existing officers, 66 belong to the direct IFS cadre, while 4 are promotees. The Uttarakhand government has acknowledged the problem but is struggling to maintain the structure. Forest Minister Mr. Subodh Uniyal stated that while the department is attempting to assign posts based on rank, the persistent shortage of officers has made it difficult to adhere to the prescribed structure.
Currently, several key posts meant for junior ranks are being handled by senior officers due to the lack of options. For instance:
- A PCCF-level officer is managing the APCCF Land Transfer Nodal Officer post, even while holding an additional charge of wildlife.
- Another PCCF officer is looking after APCCF Planning.
- The CCF Garhwal post is being held by an APCCF.
- The CCF Environment post is occupied by a PCCF-level officer.
- An APCCF is handling CCF HRD, and the CCF Administration post is also being overseen by a PCCF.
- Furthermore, the CCF Wildlife Protection and Intelligence post is assigned to an APCCF.
This mismatch in officer rank and post is creating operational inefficiencies and undermining the structural integrity of the forest administration. The situation highlights an urgent need for cadre reforms and better planning to address the looming personnel crisis in the Uttarakhand Forest Department.
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