[Samshum Changmi]
MIAO, 27 Jun: The authorities of the Namdapha Tiger Reserve (NTR) here in Changlang district have terminated the services of 57 frontline staffers – all casual employees.
The NTR, covering 1,985.245 square kilometres and bordering Myanmar, is currently operating with 139 casual anti-poaching squad members after 57 out of the total 196 employees were terminated from their jobs.
These employees had been recruited under the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s ‘Project Tiger’ during the 2023-’24 financial year, in July and August, and some in September 2023, by the then conservator of forests & field director Aduk Paron.
However, on 1 June this year, 57 casual employees were laid off before the completion of the fiscal year. These personnel include 10 members of the Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF), 11 local work force members, seven ex-servicemen, eight camp helpers, 13 personnel, four elephant attendants, three WT attendants, and one driver.
This action followed a termination order issued on 15 May, 2024, by the conservator of forests & field director, as per the directive of the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF – wildlife & biodiversity), Itanagar.
The termination order cited significant “financial difficulties faced by the department in meeting the wages of the newly recruited contingency staff.”
However, the employees who have been laid off are demanding reinstatement. “The government has already released the sanctioned funds intended for our monthly wages,” argued one of the members.
Members of the STPF who have lost their jobs submitted a memorandum to the PCCF in Itanagar on 14 June, which was followed by a brief meeting with Environment, Forest & Climate Change Minister Wangki Lowang on 25 June. But their pleas have yielded no results.
The NTR came under the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) after its formation in 2005. Since then, all funding and administrative expenses, apart from those covered by the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management & Planning Authority (CAMPA), have been managed by the NTCA, with a 90:10 central-state government funding ratio.
Each year, an annual plan of operation (APO) is prepared by the respective tiger reserves, which is scrutinised by the NCTA for the upcoming financial year to outline the necessary activities and budget for the reserves’ maintenance and protection efforts.
The cost of the APO for the NTR, including the state share, was Rs 340 lakhs in 2023-’24, which is usually released in four instalments, with the fourth and final installment having been released on 20 February, 2024.
Under each APO, all wages and development or maintenance of anti-poaching squads is covered, including recurring and non-recurring expenses for both core and buffer zones of the reserve.
Thus, citing “financial difficulties faced by the department in meeting the wages” by the PCCF and the field director for laying off these casual employees remain unclear as queries have not been responded to.
Hinjong Haidley, a former STPF member, said, “We have performed whatever duty were assigned to us in order to protect the tiger reserve in various ranges, and will continue to do so.
“If the local unemployed youths are not given opportunities to work, then it would be a great discrimination on the part of the state government,” he said, adding that they would launch a series of democratic demonstrations if they are not reinstated. (Samshum Changmi is Chief Editor, Eastern Today News)
