JAMMU: Commissioner Secretary, Forest, Ecology & Environment, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, today chaired a meeting to discuss the issues related to cadre review in Forest Department. This was the second meeting convened in this regard during the past one month. The last cadre review of IFS in J&K was carried out in 2006 and this exercise is normally to be carried out every five years.
The meeting was attended by Suresh Chug, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests/Chief Wildlife Warden J&K, SK Gupta, APCCF/ Director Social Forestry Department J&K, Vasu Yadav, Managing Director, J&K SFC, Abdul GaniHajam, CCF Central, Ramesh Kumar, Secretary Technical Forest Department, RS Bali, Director Finance Forest Department, Ram Savak, Additional Secretary Forest Department, Pankaj Katoch, Additional Secretary Forest Department and representatives from State Forestry Cadre.
The meeting took a comprehensive review of how to overcome shortage of officers and stagnation by restructuring, reorganizing and strengthening composition of IFS in the State. Speaking at the meeting Dwivedi said the regular cadre review boosts the efficiency and functioning of the Department as it helps create fresh career progression avenues for the officers.
He also said that genuine issues of the IFS and State Forest Service (SFS) officers would be addressed so that all officers are satisfied by the work load, provided and allotted to them. He said various demands of SFS are also under consideration and acknowledged that the delay in reviewing the IFS is affecting the career prospects of State officers. Threadbare discussions were held on issues like single channel for direct recruitment of ACF posts and review of the recruitment rules.