J&K Unemployed Forestry Students write to LG Sinha; seek job eligibility revision

25 July 2021

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Srinagar, July 25: J&K Unemployed Forestry Students Association has written to J&K’s Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, seeking revision and relaxation in job eligibility for various government posts in Forestry, Wildlife and Soil Conservation Departments.

In a memorandum to the LG administration, a copy of which has been shared by the Association with Ziraat Times, the association has specifically sought revision of eligibility for Forestry Posts viz., Assistant Conservator of Forest, Range Officer Grade-I (Wildlife/Soil Conservation), Assistant Director Forest Protection Force, Forester, Field Assistant, Forest Inspector in J&K Forest Department.

Ziraat Times here reproduces the text of the memorandum without any editing:

To,

Shri Manoj Sinha ji

The Hon’ble Lt. Governor

UT, JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Sub: Memorandum regarding revision of eligibility of Forestry Posts (viz., Assistant conservator of Forest, Range Officer Grade-I (Wildlife/Soil conservation), Assistant Director Forest protection Force, Forester, Field Assistant, Forest inspector in JK forest department.

J&K is famous tourist place in the Country and in the World for its natural beauty due to mountains cover with lush green forests.
For developing specialized technical manpower in the forest sector in India, B.Sc forestry Degree was approved by ICAR and notified by The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and ICAR as professional degree.
In this regard, J&K Government gave consent to SKUAST-Kashmir to start this degree Programme and was offered from 1995 in the erstwhile state of J&K and much before in the country for developing specialized technical manpower of Forestry sector.
Admission to B.Sc. Forestry Degree programme was done through JKBOPEE and from 2013 onwards SKUAST-Kashmir itself conducts Open Competitive University Entrance Test exam (UET) wherein all J&K domiciles (Kashmir Division, Jammu Division) and Ladakh UT Domiciles are eligible and get admission in the said programme.
Furthermore, J&K domiciles also pursue B.Sc Forestry degree across country offered through at least 71 ICAR/UGC Universities and more than 150 Colleges associated and even from Foreign Universities.

Despite of holding degrees (B.Sc, MSc, Ph.D, PDF) in Forestry and our UT being largely dependent on tourism sector only because of lush evergreen forests, forestry graduates still stand unemployed. The department has shown surprising apathy towards the recruitment process as for about a decade not a single non gazetted (Forester/ Field Inspector) and ADF/ACF posts has been advertised by the department for the degree holders. Due to this grave negligence, most of the forestry professionals are eagerly waiting to appear and qualify in the examination of the said department. Hon’ble sir, we request your good self to kindly intervene the matter personally with respect to the following:

Firstly, the revision of eligibility of the Forestry posts (Gazetted and non Gazetted) is very long pending issue thus needs to be resolved as soon as possible to smoothen the recruitment process which is on halt for more than a decade now. It is requested to make B.Sc. Forestry as sole eligibility for all (gazzetted viz. Assistant conservator Forest, Assistant Director Forest, Range officer(Wildlife/soil conservation) and non-gazetted viz. Forester, Forest inspector, Field assistant, so that justice is delivered at an earliest.

Secondly, the average area under forest as well as tree cover has increased enormously and is growing rapidly from the past few years due to Forestry professionals/technocrates working as Conservators/ Divisional forest officers and Range officers in the said department. The Forestry graduates possess required skills and knowledge to serve the department, which will benifit our UT and Country by increasing Forest cover (green gold) and Economy as well as stress upon the climate change issue. Therefore we demand increase in the professional strength by reorganizing and creating new vacancies in the department.
Thirdly, the posts should be immediately advertised so that highly qualified degree holders who are crossing the age limits can appear in these examinations which they yearn for years and serve the department and People to their full potential.

The irony is that during last one decade not even a single non gazzeted post were advertised by JKSSB for forestry graduates and from 4 years no Gazzeted post has been advertised till date in JK Forest department, and even in the ongoing fast recruitment as promised by Central Govt and Honorable LG Sir more than 20,000 posts has been advertised under different notifications, But unfortunately not a single post has been reserved for Forestry graduates even in recent Forest Department advertisement notification No. 03 of 2021. It is worth mentioning here that in the recently advertised posts of Field assistant and Field inspector by JKSSB (Advertisement No. 03 of 2021, Dated: 04-06-2021), degree/diploma in civil/Mechanical/electrical engineering, Master degree in Zoology/chemistry/Environmental Science is eligibility criteria for the said posts in above notification, but unfortunately in the said notification of JKForest department we forestry graduates/post graduates are not even eligible for single post in this advertisement. Such blunders in eligibility criteria by higher-ups in the administration are adding to the frustration of already distressed unemployed forestry professionals. In this view we demand the amendments in the eligibility criteria shall be done on priority basis as we have been waiting for the vacancies in Forest Department for more than a decade.

Introducing Forestry as an optional subject in JKPSC (Civil service Examination, KAS/KPS).
Filling up of vacant posts in the forest and allied departments on priority basis with technocrats (i. e. B. Sc Forestry/M.Sc Forestry by direct recruitment).
Lastly, every year more than 70 students completed their graduation/Post graduation in the field of forestry from both SKUAST-K & SKUAST-J. Forest, Environment and Ecology Department,Civil Secretariat. In pursuance to Cabinet Decision No. 96/6/2017 Dated 10.06.2017, policy for engagement of 534 registered unemployed Forestry Graduate/ Post graduate/DDR Trainee as Rehbar-e-Janglat was formulated vide Govt.Order 155-Fst of 2017 dated 20-6-2017 .The Policy provided that the scheme shall seize to exist automatically after engagement of the last registered candidate as Rehbar-e-Janglat covered under the scheme. The student who completed their graduation in forestry after 2014 was not eligible for REHABAR-E JANGLAT Policy. Now more than 600 forestry graduates/post graduates are unemployed from 2014, and only 34 out of 600 Students were adjusted in JKforest department as RANGE OFFICERs. It is therefore requested that the above policy should be reviewed again as few post are still lying vacant and the unemployed graduates may be absorbed in the department immediately.
It is time we rethink why forest graduates are being sidelined by policy makers and administrators and why the degree course in forestry is not justified to get a good job. The more we ignore forestry professionals, the more we will compromise with on our forest resources and the environment.

We are highly Thankful to our Hon’ble Lt. Governor for coming to our Faculty of Forestry, SKUAST-K. We are expecting that all of our above issues would be resolved soon by our respected Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha Sir.

Your’s Sincerely

All Jammu and Kashmir Unemployed Forestry students association & SKUAST-J, SKUAST-K Students association.