M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, May 2: Palamu Tiger Reserve is facing a major human resource crunch, especially in regards to the rangers.
This tiger reserve has 8 ranges namely Betla, Kutku, Chhipadohar east, Chhipadohar west, Bareysanr, Garu east, Garu west and Mahuadnr which mean it has to have 8 forest range officer that is one ranger for one of the 8 ranges each.
However, at present only 3 rangers are managing 8 ranges of the tiger reserve Palamu.
The three rangers who are doubling up as 8 are Tarun Kumar Singh, Ganesh Prasad and Brinda Pandey.
Tarun holds charges for 3 ranges Garu east, Garu west and Bareysanr.
Ganesh is holding the Kutku range that may now as a stop-gap arrangement have to hold charges for Chhipadohar east and west ranges too besides Betla range whose ranger Prem Prasad has superannuated this April 30.
A formal notification from the government regarding Betla and Chhipadohar east and west ranges is expected shortly.
Brinda Pandey is the only ranger who is holding the Mahuadanr range comfortably without having any additional charge of any other range.
Deputy Director North division of PTR Kumar Ashish said, “We do not know as to how we will manage our North division of PTR. Our prime range Betla is vacant for ranger following the retirement of Prem Prasad on April 30.”
He said Betla is such a place where any VVIP can come any day and now this range is sans any ranger. Betla is a tourist hub and there this post of ranger stands vacant.
Ashish said 3 ranges of his North division fall in the Latehar district. These are Betla and Chhipadohar east and west.
He has shot off a letter to Latehar DC Abu Imran requesting him to put in place any of his officers if VIP or VVIP descends either in Betla or in Chhipadohar east and west ranges.
“Our North division has Kutku range and this falls in the Garhwa district. We believe our department will pitch in soon to plug these huge human resource crunch,” he said.
Apart from rangers, there is no assistant conservation of forest either in the north or south division. One assistant conservation of forest posted in Betla retired and died of Coronavirus. The South division assistant conservation of forest retired long ago and this post continues to remain vacant.
Chief conservator of forest and field director of the PTR Kumar Ashutosh said he has sent a proposal to the Principal Chief Conservator of forest and chief wildlife warden Ashish Rawat to ensure either posting on places where the post of ranger is vacant or to make alternative arrangements for the management of the vacant posts.
Ashutosh said it is a real challenging task now to manage the PTR spread over more than 1,100 square kilometres.
“We have asked our team to pull up their socks to save and protect our tiger reserve where there are still 6 or 7 weeks more to go when the fire season will be over,” he said.
Sources said there is a statewide shortage of rangers and assistant conservation of forests.
Jharkhand has a total recorded forest area of only 23,721 sq km out of which reserved forest is 18.58 percent, protected forest 81.28 percent and unclassed forest 0.14 percent as per official statistics available for the year 2021.
