M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Sept 4: Trackers and tiger protection force personnel of the Tiger Reserve Palamu have not been given wages since April of this year. These include a total of 198 trackers and 90 tiger protection force personnel here in PTR.
Their already diminished wages of Rs 320 per day have been stopped since April. This has led them to suffer at the hands of their local grocers, who are putting pressure on them to pay for their food and other basic amenities.
Chief conservator of forest and field director of PTR Kumar Ashutosh said, “It is true, our trackers and tiger protection force personnel have not been paid since April. We understand their hardships.”
When asked for the reason behind it, Ashutosh said, “The PTR has no funds at the moment. We are awaiting funds from the National Tiger Conservation Authority.”
He further added, “Our tiger conservation foundation too is starved of funds otherwise we would have paid wages of at least one or two months from that fund.”
Ashutosh said that the last time funds were pooled in for their wages from the tiger conservation foundation.
On being asked if there is any hope of funds coming in the coming few weeks he said, “We believe by September 15 funds will be made available by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. We too, are concerned for our ground staff.”
Sources said the fund is shared by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the state government in 60:40 ratios.
The field director appreciated the efforts of trackers and tiger protection force personnel and said that despite not having been pain in so long, the officers give their best, as far as their duties are concerned.
Notably, fund crunch for the trackers and tiger protection force personnel is an annual feature here in PTR.
