DHENKANAL: Vacancies in Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) posts, who look after afforestation and eco-tourism, have affected the functioning of Dhenkanal Forest Division office. Of the three sanctioned ACF posts, all are lying vacant since long.
Similarly, other junior posts, including those of clerks, are also lying vacant in the Division Forest Office (DFO). Shortage of ACFs and supporting staff has not only affected the forest management but also derailed the office administration. With the division afflicted with regular cases of man-elephant conflicts, the staff crunch has impacted both forest development and administration in most of the ranges.
DFO Sudarshan Patra said, “The forest division comprises eight ranges but deputy rangers function in Kamakshyanagar and Dhenkanal Sadar. Each range has been witnessing an increasing number of man-elephant conflicts in the recent past.”
“Though there is an official Whatsapp group for sharing and tracking of elephant movement on a daily basis, shortage of staff has affected forest patrolling and overall supervision of works,” he said. The higher officials of the Forest department have been apprised about the problems, he added.
Sources said the number of elephants in the district decreased from 225 to 181. Of these, 125 elephants have been roaming in Hindol areas for the last few days. Panic-stricken villagers are now spending sleepless nights to protect their paddy fields from elephants, who are invading human habitations in search of food. Forest officials have intensified patrolling in the area.
Now, the Forest department is unable to accommodate more than four pachyderms at Kapilash Elephant Rescue Centre due to space constraint and absence of forest personnel, including caretakers. Those present want enhanced payment to deal with the elephants. Despite Government providing funds for another rescue centre, absence of requisite number of staff has delayed the execution of the proposed plan.